North Coast Resilient Food Systems Initiative
The Del Norte Meat Processing Facility by the Hmong Association and the North Coast Food System Network by NCGA represent complementary initiatives to strengthen regional food resilience infrastructure. While the meat processing plant addresses critical gaps in processing capacity for local farmers, the Network creates connections between food system organizations to enhance production, distribution, and workforce development across the Redwood Region.
Project Leads: Hmong Association of Crescent City and North Coast Growers' Association
Collaborators (North Coast Food System Network): Helianth, Foggy Bottoms Boys, The Ink People, Humboldt Made, North Coast Growers Association, Del Norte and Tribal Lands Community Food Council, Humboldt County Farm Bureau, Blue Lake Rancheria, Aquilli Metzli Masa Coop, and Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria.
Del Norte Meat Processing Facility
Addressing Regional Processing Needs
The Hmong Association of Crescent City plans to build a USDA-approved meat processing plant in Crescent City, addressing the region's growing need for accessible meat processing. Following the closure of the Redwood Meat Company, farmers in the Redwood Region have faced long-distance transportation challenges, forced to travel over 160 miles for meat processing.
Services and Community Benefits
The new facility will offer processing services for cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry, supporting local farmers and strengthening regional agriculture. It will also include a retail component and grocery space to benefit the community economically. The plant will meet culturally specific needs of the Hmong community, which currently lacks a reliable source for these products.
Ownership and Financial Viability
The facility will be owned and sponsored by the Hmong Association, which represents around 500 local residents. A feasibility study confirmed the project's financial viability for the next ten years, and the business plan estimates the plant will process about 160 animals per month and create five full-time jobs.
Expected Impact and Success Metrics
Success will be measured by the completion of the facility, the number of local farmers utilizing the processing services, and overall economic impact. The project will primarily benefit small to mid-sized farmers in Del Norte County, helping them reduce logistical costs and supporting regional food systems.
Community Empowerment and Development
The plant will empower marginalized communities, with a focus on the Hmong and Latinx populations, and provide a model for rural economic development. Revenue generated will support ongoing community programming for the Hmong Association.
North Coast Food System Network
Regional Food System Collaboration
The North Coast Growers' Association (NCGA) looks to work together with various food system collaborators to form the North Coast Food System Network (the Network). The Network is a strategic initiative meant to strengthen the food production, processing, distribution, and workforce development capacities across the region, by helping increase food infrastructure and capacity.
Vision and Community Relationships
It seeks to expand upon existing and developing relationships to support community-based organizations and priority communities. It will run for 17 months, and aims to connect multiple types of food systems organizations and businesses through quarterly meetings, connections and relationship building, and shared visioning and marketing outputs.
Project Support and Funding Pathways
The Network will create pathways for access to funding for smaller projects. Projects that align with the goals of the Network and main sector, Working Lands and Blue Economy, include projects that are meant to build or establish places that can act as local sources of food or teaching centers for cooking.
Community-Led Development
Projects are created for and by the communities they will serve, but often do not have the capacity to access and administer large grant opportunities. The project aims to leverage the capacity and experience of NCGA to administer funding, and support project initiators throughout and beyond the grant term.
Funding Distribution and Impact
A large majority of the funding requested from the Catalyst grant is intended to go to community-led and owned projects, and most of these projects will benefit priority communities.
Project at a Glance
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