School and Senior Meal Solutions Manufacturer Focus Foods Announces 100-Job Expansion

Focus Meals, a meals options producer that has supplied greater than 25 million meals to colleges, households, care services and catastrophe areas since 2019, introduced a $1.7 million growth and relocation from its Celtic Studios base of operations to a bigger website in Baton Rouge.

The undertaking will create 100 direct new jobs with a mean annual wage of $45,000, plus advantages. Focus Meals is retaining 333 jobs, and Louisiana Financial Growth estimates the undertaking will end in 220 oblique jobs in Louisiana’s Capital Area.

Focus Meals started as a community of former meals truck house owners who merged their expertise and abilities to develop and manufacture easy-to-prepare frozen meals. At first of the pandemic, the corporate prioritized meals for in-home consumption supplied to elementary and highschool college students who had switched to a digital or at-home setting.

“Within the face of challenges, Louisiana entrepreneurs put forth improvements that drive options,” Gov. John Bel Edwards mentioned. “Focus Meals did precisely that when the pandemic created an pressing want for meals choices for college kids and different prospects. This growth demonstrates the significance of Louisiana’s assist for small enterprise house owners, whose entrepreneurial spirit can spur funding, drive job creation and strengthen communities.”

Focus Meals plans to maneuver its company headquarters and manufacturing operations into the 75,000 square-foot former Valluzzo-McDonald’s distribution plant in August. It would add 15,000 sq. ft to the ability for an industrial culinary kitchen and a shelf-stable meals manufacturing heart.

“This growth of our infrastructure will permit us to broaden the constructive influence that our firm has on meals insecurity wants for Louisiana’s youngsters and aged,” Focus Meals Chief Advertising and marketing Officer Ned Fasullo mentioned.

The corporate gives 30,000 meals for Ok-12 college students throughout seven parish faculty districts every week by means of the U.S. Division of Agriculture’s Little one & Grownup Care Feeding Program. Along with faculty and residential supply, Focus Meals operates eight owned distribution websites and 50 companion websites throughout 11 parishes.

“I’m elated to see the growth of Focus Meals in our neighborhood right here in East Baton Rouge Parish,” East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome mentioned. “This service not solely meets the wants of our neighborhood by means of their meal preparation providers, but it surely additionally introduces new job alternatives throughout a season when a lot of our residents are looking for employment alternatives.” 

To safe Focus Meals’ growth in Baton Rouge, the State of Louisiana supplied the corporate with a complete incentive package deal that features the providers of LED FastStart, the No. 1 statewide workforce improvement programming the U.S. Focus Meals is predicted to take part within the state’s High quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption packages. The corporate additionally will obtain a $100,000 award from the state’s Financial Growth Award Program.

“Not solely is that this an thrilling financial improvement undertaking, bringing 100 new jobs to the area in a quickly increasing sector, but it surely’s additionally a feel-good neighborhood story,” mentioned President and CEO Adam Knapp of the Baton Rouge Space Chamber. “BRAC has been happy to assist Focus Meals’ evolution from native startup to main employer, and we sit up for partnering on their future success.”