FSMA AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT TRAINING TO UNDERSERVED SMALL FOOD & BEVERAGE ENTREPRENEURS AND FUTURE CAPACITY BUILDING

Project Goal: Fulfill the need for targeted, food safety (FSMA) and business development training for small food producers across underserved communities in Georgia and Puerto Rico by offering both complementary classes for entrepreneurs in these areas and Train-The-Trainer classes to further disseminate this training beyond the project parameters. This will be accomplished through three objectives:After conducting a needs assessment, develop and deploy a curriculum for live and virtual food safety/FSMA and business development training and short promotional/informational videos targeting entrepreneurs in under-served communities who are involved with small food processing operations and farms.Develop and deploy an effective Train-The-Trainer model to expand capacity across under-served communities in Georgia and insular areas of Puerto Rico.Develop and conduct evaluations to determine knowledge retention and collect impact information via surveys, which will be reported to NIFA and shared with project stakeholders.