Improved Food Distribution Facilities for Southern New Jersey

Excerpts from the report: Southern New Jersey wholesalers, industry trade groups, local governments, and the New Jersey Department of Agriculture requested the assistance of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in determining the need for new food wholesale and processing facilities to serve the southern portions of the State. This request was prompted by a general concern that new and more modern facilities were needed to assist the area food industry in maintaining a high level of competitive service to the region. Based on consultation among study cooperators, the 10 southernmost counties in New Jersey were delineated as the study area. These counties are Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, and Salem. For this study, food firms in southern New Jersey were categorized into 12 defined groups. To the extent possible, each firm was identified based on the single most important type of food product in the company's overall annual sales. These categories are: (1) bakery product firms, (2) beverage companies, (3) candy wholesalers and processors, (4) dairy product firms, (5) egg wholesalers, (6) food product companies, (7) frozen food wholesalers, (8) fruit and vegetable firms, (9) grocery companies, (10) meat wholesalers and processors, (11) poultry companies, and (12) seafood firms. The objectives of this study were: • Develop a general overview of the regional food industry in southern New Jersey. • Identify firms needing new facilities. • Develop designs for new facilities to solve the identified deficiencies in existing facilities. • Evaluate potential locations for new facilities. • Estimate the potential benefits and costs associated with both existing and planned facilities to evaluate some of the merits of relocating firms to more modern facilities.