To increase the amount of people in Moscow who process their own food, the city is looking at creating a food innovation center, said Robin Ohlgren, assistant executive director of the Latah Economic Development Council.
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Alex Gordon, Grocery Buyer at the Moscow Food Co-op, stocks organic baked beans. The Latah Economic Development Council is working with the Co-op to explore the idea of creating a food innovation center.
The idea stems from a meeting of 120 different community members in 2010 called Food on the Table, where they discussed ways to have greater access to local food, Ohlgren said.
“Creating a lasting and sustainable food innovation center can be a difficult task to do,” she said. “However, we (the council) believe that if a center can work anywhere, it can work in Moscow.”
She said Moscow has the community support, and people who want a sustainable center.
Right now, LEDC is using the $17,000 in grant money they received to have Manheim Solutions, Inc. conduct a feasibility study in Moscow and assess what the best possibilities for the center are, Ohlgren said.
She said the innovation center might take shape into a variety of things, such as a community kitchen where people can bottle, can and process local food.
Ohlgren said the study, which should be completed by the end of November, is supposed to show the best options for success.
After the study is finished, Ohlgren said they will start looking at the feasibility of creating the center. She said the problem will be with funding, especially since LEDC wants the center to be fiscally sustainable and not a burden on the city.
Mayor Nancy Chaney said there is a push for more areas to buy local, and a food innovation center would create a regional agriculture production and distribution area.
The city is working with various branches and institutions to create the best option for the center, including the University of Idaho, Chaney said.
Ohlgren said they are also working with the Food Co-op, Gritman Medical Center and Rural Roots, so they can all collaborate and not duplicate ideas.
Manheim Solutions, Inc. is also engaging local consultants to better understand the community of Moscow, she said.
“They strongly believe in and feel we have a good chance in succeeding,” Ohlgren said.
She said the idea for buying local foods is not going away, and with different institutions looking at using local foods there is a better chance for success.
Allison Griffith can be reached at arg-news.uidaho.edu