The appetite for local food is growing – and it’s bigger than you might think. According to a recent survey, more than 82% of wholesale buyers said they were either interested in buying directly from local producers or they already did buy locally-grown food but desired to increase their purchases.
Market Center of the Ozarks offers growers and food entrepreneurs the resources to prepare their products for large-scale markets – from hospitals to schools to large retailers.
What MCO Offers Growers and Food Entrepreneurs:
- Support connecting with food access partners, institutional food service programs, and retail markets
- Infrastructure, education and technical assistance to grow and scale
What MCO Offers FOOD ACCESS PARTNERS AND Institutional Buyers:
- Access and introductions to local growers and aggregated, high quality, consistently available produce
- Minimally-processed and value-added products for institutional food service
- Connections to local food businesses producing for retail and wholesale markets
- Connections to local small business caterers ready to meet your event needs
- Research and development, and contract processing of novel foods
- GAP and other certified food-safe products
- Cold and dry storage to support supply chain ebb and flow
- Fresh, local and affordable ingredients for large-scale operations
Interested in connecting with local produce or local food products? Get in touch.
