Back to Business: Recovery & Growth for the Food Industry

Recovery & Growth for the Food Industry is a program that offers food, beverage, and agricultural businesses training and counseling services to provide the knowledge and skills necessary to weather the COVID-19 economic and public health crisis. Western Pennsylvania's food and farm businesses are integral to the region's economy, providing meaningful jobs and supplying the food our area needs. Chatham's Center for Women's Entrepreneurship (CWE) and the Center for Regional Agriculture and Food Transformation (CRAFT) will empower food business owners to excel in the changing economy, both now and into the future.

The program will offer in-depth training webinars, a "Pandemic Pivot Speaker Series," and one-on-one business counseling with subject matter experts. Training webinars will cover topics as diverse and engaging as Marketing Your Business to Maximize Customer Engagement, Food Photography & Styling, How & Where to Cook Safely, Social Media, Public Relations, Web Design, Food Labeling, Packaging & Distributions, Accessing Capital, Business Resiliency, COVID-19 Mitigation Best Practices, SWOT Analyses, and ServSafe Certification. The "Pandemic Pivot Speaker Series" will showcase how time-tested food, farm, service, and beverage entrepreneurs have survived, evolved, and continue striving for growth during this challenging time. Business counseling will be available in Brand Analysis, Bringing a Food Product to Market, Manufacturing Small Batch Food Products, Food Labeling and Nutrition Requirements, Human Resources, Digital Marketing, Legal, Accounting, Access to Funding, and Diversity Certification.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the Hillman Family Foundation.