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Warren meat processor receives $250K to help strengthen Ohio’s food supply chain

By Mahoning Matters staff
Ohio Meat Processing Grant
(Office of Gov. Mike DeWine)

Premium Meats in Warren was awarded a $250,000 grant to help strengthen the state’s food supply chain.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Wednesday announced that 12 Ohio meat processors were awarded a total of nearly $3 million to “implement processing efficiencies, expand or construct facilities at existing sites, assist in training and certification and improve harvest services,” a news release states.

This is the third round of funds awarded through the Ohio Meat Processing Grant program. To date, 128 grants totaling $28 million have been awarded to Ohio meat processors in 59 counties, the release states.

“These grants don’t just benefit the processors,” DeWine said in the release. “They also benefit Ohio families who will find more meat products available to them at the store.”

Each company will receive a grant of up to $250,000, with half of the funds disbursed before projects are started and the other half awarded after the companies show that the initial funds were spent on eligible costs, the release states.

The Ohio Meat Processing Grant Program was created in the state’s 2022-23 operating budget, which was passed by the Ohio General Assembly last year.

“These grants help food processors invest in new machinery and technology that can deliver more food, less expensively,” Husted said in the release. “This results in a new level of productivity that benefits the consumer with lower prices, business with more production and the workforce with higher pay.”

Here are the Valley companies that received grants in previous rounds of funding:

ROUND 1

  • DiRusso’s Sausage (Mahoning County), $249,936;
  • C&J Meats (Columbiana County), $250,000.

ROUND 2

  • Rob’s Horst Packing (Mahoning County), $250,000;
  • Acme Steak & Seafood Co. (Mahoning County), $249,146;
  • Jones Processing (Trumbull County), $71,745;
  • Mahan Packing Co. (Trumbull County), $246,199;
  • Peden’s Freezer Meats (Trumbull County), $16,920.
  • Leslie Farm Custom Meat Processing (Columbiana County), $157,651;
  • Winona Frozen Foods (Columbiana County), $250,000.