Amount Requested: $500,000
Funding is requested for the establishment of the Hudson Valley Food Processing Incubator Program, which would provide technical assistance and access to flexible food manufacturing and logistics capacity to farmers and agribusinesses in the Hudson Valley Region.  Entrepreneurial assistance is one of the chief goals of the Small Business Administration.  Furthermore, incubators have been shown to be the most effective use of fedral funds in terms of infrastructure projects and job creation. 

A recent Economic Development Administration study reveals that for every $10,000 of federal investment up to 69 jobs are created when invested in incubator facilities.  The combination of flexible and shared use facilities with the technical assistance provided increases the success rate of businesses that are located within incubators.  The food processing incubator proposed for the Hudson Valley Region also plays a critical role in supplying the food needs of the largest metropolitan region in the nation in New York City and the surrounding communities.  The agricultural community that supports this consumer market is in need of this critical facility to support the myriad range of agribusinesses in an important food producing region of the State and the U.S.