Food Manufacturing
Terrebonne Parish is one of the leading regions in the United States for the harvesting of shrimp, crawfish, and other aquaculture products. It also has a significant base of soybean, sugar, and rice farming. In spite of its robust food product resources, there is presently very little food manufacturing activity in the Parish.
The U.S. Food & Beverage Processing industry is undergoing a transition, with consumers shifting towards healthy, fresh, organic, local, and ready-to-eat alternatives over traditional products that are mass produced, frozen, canned, etc. Terrebonne Parish’s combination of a strong base of aquaculture and agriculture products, ample water and sewer capacity,and access to major U.S. markets makes it a strong competitor in this arena.
Growth in this target will be bolstered by the presence of the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University, which is the only culinary program in the state that offers a bachelor’s degree, and just one of four in the United States. This program produces about 50 four-year graduates and another 25 associate graduates per year. Terrebonne’s rich history of regional cuisine and proximity to the world-class restaurant scene in New Orleans also makes it a logical location for niche food manufacturers, caterers, and other high-end food services. At the K–12 level, schools in the Parish have access to the Louisiana Restaurant Association’s ProStart program, which prepares students for careers in the culinary arts. For each target, a bulleted list of rationales is presented and identified as appealing to the needs of prospects (P) or the community (C).
Rationales
- Centrally located to serve regional and national markets)
- Access to four-lane highways, rail service, and port facilities
- General aviation airport capable of handling corporate aircraft
- Availability of skilled industrial workers
- Reasonable availability of managerial personnel
- Quality of labor-management relations
- Availability of post-secondary vocational training
- Availability of on-the-job training assistance
- John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State
- Availability of locally raised products for food processing
- Availability of manufacturing processes
- Rich history of culinary activity in the surrounding area
- Ample availability of water and sewer infrastructure
- Availability of tax credits, incentives, and low-interest loans
- Availability of labor training incentives
- Low rate of unionization in the local labor market
- Potential to sustain and add value to local base of aquacultural and agricultural activity
- Strong recent growth in regional Manufacturing sector
- Average target subsector national earnings of $76,022
- Average target subsector 10-year past employment growth rate: 2.5%
- Average target subsector 10-year forecast employment growth rate: 3.8%
- An existing local pool of high-demand occupations
- Quality of place assets: availability of all types of housing, low cost of living, cultural activity, recreational opportunities, medical facilities