Maine's first privately-owned, membership-based commercial kitchen incubator and tasting room, the Portland-based Fork Food Lab, was awarded a Regional ReCOGnition Award for Job Creation and Economic Development by the Greater Portland Council of Governments.
"The ReCOGnition award is a true honor for us," said Eric Holstein, co-founder of Fork Food Lab, in a prepared statement. "Community is at the heart of Fork Food Lab — it's our biggest motivator — and we know that this project will not only create jobs, but it will bring the community together through food and collaboration."
In 2014, Greater Portland was chosen by the White House as one of the nation's 12 Manufacturing Communities as part of a plan to double the region's food manufacturing employment in 10 years.
"This collaborative community kitchen will serve as an economic engine for the region," the ReCOGnition award reads, "helping food entrepreneurs scale-up their enterprises to full-time operations that create jobs and attract investment."
The food lab, which is set to open in August, recently launched a $30,000 crowdfunding campaign and plans to use all the funds raised for a tasting room to draw in the community to try new foods from and provide feedback to the businesses at the lab.
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