A Study of Food Processors in New York City

Client
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets
Faculty
Kate Collignon, Kei Hayashi
Team
Chris Barker, Laura Imperiale, Chris Keeley, Jeff Leyco, Megan Quirk

The Department of Agriculture and Markets (DAGM) is charged with fostering a competitive and safe New York food and agricultural industry for the benefit of pro­ducers and consumers. As part of its goal to serve producers, DAGM enlisted the Capstone team to study food processors in New York City in order to better under­stand the benefits and threats they face in choosing to locate here. The team studied businesses in a variety of phases (startups, expanding businesses, largescale processors, and recently closed) and examined their location choices within the context of economic and policy landscapes. Geographic hotspots of processing were identified through use of GIS and the team conducted case studies of firms within those hotspots or other relevant boundaries.