U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Discusses ‘Farm to Fork’ at RIT

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A. Sue Weisler

U.S. Deputy Secretary Seth Harris will tour RIT’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, housed in Louise M. Slaughter Hall.

Food processing is big business in the Finger Lakes, and federal officials want to ensure the region is maximizing economic development efforts in the region. On May 21, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Seth Harris will tour RIT’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, which is leading the Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative.

In 2011, Rochester Institute of Technology received a grant from the U.S. Labor Department, U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Small Business Administration that allowed for the development of an employee training, economic development and small-business assistance program for local companies in the food industry. The project is focused on enhancing the food processing supply chain, such as growing crops or raising livestock, food processing equipment, packaging and selling food products. The food processing supply chain is referred to as “farm to fork.”