$51M LiDestri expansion, promising 120 jobs, highlights Cuomo's FLX agenda

A new venture between Fairport's LiDestri Food and Drink and a Belgian company promises more than 120 jobs and a new production facility to be built at Eastman Business Park.

The $51 million project is one of several area food and agriculture initiatives promised state funding when Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed his 2019 agenda this week.

Also on this list is support for an upstart meal delivery business expanding in Geneva, expecting an even greater influx of jobs, and plans for a new, multi-region business competition for innovative food products to be funded with $15 million over three years.

"We think this is a real growth area for us," Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said of food processing in particular during a Friday stop at Rochester City Hall.

Funding would come from the $500 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative previously awarded to the nine-county Finger Lakes region in December 2015. Cuomo's pledge of $25 million for anti-poverty efforts, also announced this week, similarly draws from that pot of money. Those dollars were to last five years, but have been nearly exhausted in three, as Cuomo has directed the bulk of the commitments, mainly to projects in Monroe County. The exact allocations to LiDestri, Geneva's RealEats and to a first-in-the-state culinary arts apprenticeship program run by Foodlink was not immediately known.

Here is what we know about each of the initiatives:

►The LiDestri project would be the company's fourth facility in the area, and third on Lee Road. This latest venture is a partnership with Crop's NV of Belgium, a producer of frozen vegetables, fruits and ready-made meals. LiDestri employs 750 in the Rochester area, 1,200 nationwide.

“We are excited because we are bringing an innovative product from our European partners that not only provides jobs for families but an innovative, on-trend healthy choice to eating for families,” said John C. LiDestri, co-president of the company. 

Plans are to break ground on the facility this spring, officials said. The 123 full-time jobs would be created over a five-year period. State incentives include up to $4 million in grant funding, and $4 million in Excelsior tax credits.

►RealEats offers fully cooked, never-frozen, locally sourced meals that are ready to eat after six minutes in a pot of boiling water. Its current staffing of 20-some employees will more than double in the first phase of the planned expansion, said Vinnie Esposito, executive director for the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council.

Dan Wise, the company's CEO, said in a statement that the plan is to create "hundreds of jobs in the region over the next five years, in all facets of the business from cooks to customer service representatives."

A spokeswoman for Hochul put the jobs number at 400 over the next five years. The nearly $2 million project could receive a $500,000 grant and is eligible for $3 million in tax credits.

The company recently named celebrity chef Aliya LeeKong to take over its culinary program.

►The New York Food and Agriculture Challenge will span the Central New York, Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions with prize money aimed at food and agriculture firms with "high-impact business growth" potential willing to commit to remain in or relocate to the region. It will be overseen by Cornell University, primarily operated out of Geneva, Esposito said, but allow companies to locate throughout the region.

Early plans show $7.5 million in prize money over three years, plus incubator space, ongoing mentorship and corporate support, rotating hosts in each region, all promoted with a national marketing campaign.

►Foodlink was hoping for program funding to support the next two years of its culinary and food processing job-training program. The first class is underway now, targeting those with significant barriers to employment. Trainees become paid Foodlink employees three months into the yearlong program.

Ultimately, the goal is for the program to be funded by the employers it benefits, said Mitch Gruber, chief program officer at Foodlink and a Rochester City Council member. Being recently certified as the first apprenticeship program of its kind in the state speaks to the rigor of the training and its adherence to industry standards and guidelines. 

BDSHARP@Gannett.com