Pennsylvania’s nearly 50,000 farms oversee some 7.3 million acres of land and are well acknowledged as one of the major economic drivers of the Commonwealth, contributing more than $132 billion to our state’s economy.
On Wednesday, Governor Josh Shapiro said he’s betting on and investing in Pennsylvania farmers. In particular, some $3 million in grant money for Folkland Foods of Waterford.
“This allows for farms to make investments in innovation, be far more efficient, effective in their process. . . This is a big deal,” said Shapiro.
Folkland Foods is a start-up organic food company specializing in potatoes and thanks to that grant funding, they’re building a new organic french fry manufacturing plant.
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“With their support,” said Zach Troyer, co-founder of Folkland Foods, “It will help build a facility that can process up to 2000 acres of potatoes and create 50 good-paying, meaningful jobs in the first 3 years.”
The founders of Folkland Foods said there’s a lack of organic potatoes throughout the East Coast and with this plant, they’ll be able to distribute lots of organic products.