Advancing the competitiveness of the food processing cluster in the Finger Lakes region.

  • The Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative is a coordinated effort led by the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology in conjunction with several partner organizations, to spur economic growth and job creation in the nine-county Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Our goal is to support and unify the stakeholders of the cluster to achieve synergistic results.
  • To assist Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster businesses, the Initiative offers three program opportunities show below. They are available to any business in the Finger Lakes region that’s part of the food processing supply chain, such as growing crops or raising livestock, food processing, manufacturing agricultural/food processing equipment, supporting the process (making labels, boxes, cans, bottles, etc.), and/or selling finished food products (often referred to as “Farm-to-Fork”). The Training Program is also available to current and prospective food cluster employees.

Read More About the FLFPCI

Join us on June 18, 2013, for Sustainability in Food Processing Workshop (Rochester)

Exporting: Opportunities for Market Expansion Workshop presentation now available.

“This cluster concept is so important… When you get a group of people together, and industries together, and institutions like universities together around particular industries, then the synergies that develop from all those different facets coming together can make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.”

President Barack Obama, Cleveland State University, Winning the Future Forum
February 22, 2011

Finger Lakes Food Processing Cluster Initiative program opportunities include:

Advancement Program Training Program Small Business Program
  • Cluster organization, planning, and networking
  • Waste-to-energy technology development or optimization
  • Energy and/or water use reduction
  • New business development/start-up support
  • Technology development and technology transfer
  • Process and/or quality improvement
  • Market expansion through sustainable supply chain efforts
  • Technology and Process Development R&D
  • Cluster survey and focus groups to assess training needs
  • 24 credit training program for workers to upgrade employment and initiate a career pathway in the Food Processing Cluster industries
  • Customized training for cluster companies based on specific identified needs
  • Training in Green Energy and Waste Stream Management
  • Training for unemployed/underemployed seasoned professionals from other industries to enable them to transition into the cluster
  • Connection to technical and business assistance
  • Outreach & networking events
  • Connection to the region's incubators and/or specific counseling and training programs
  • Assistance with navigation of state and federal funding and technical assistance programs (e.g., SBIR applications, NYSERDA programs)

Who is eligible to participate?


New and existing food processing cluster businesses in the nine-county Finger Lakes region (Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties) are encouraged to participate. Cluster employees and US workers interested in entering the food processing cluster industries may apply for the training program. Veterans and their spouses, as well as unemployed workers in the region, are encouraged to apply.

For more information or to inquire about FLFPCI programs

  • Click the button below to register.


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