Amy”™s Kitchen, the organic food company that was on track to open a $95 million manufacturing facility on Route 17M in Goshen, is one Hudson Valley business that was temporarily derailed by the pandemic.
The proposed 389,000-square-foot frozen food processing plant had its official groundbreaking ceremony two years ago and was expected to open next month.
“Amy”™s Kitchen, New York state and Orange County are a recipe for success. It”™s clear that Amy”™s Kitchen recognizes that Goshen is the perfect kitchen to start cooking up their top-notch products and major economic development in the Hudson Valley, and I”™m so thrilled to see years of planning and hard work come together here with the groundbreaking of this new plant,” U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told officials that attended the 2018 ceremony.
“I”™ve fiercely supported Amy”™s Kitchen throughout this process because I knew the company and Goshen were a microwavable match made in heaven and the perfect serving of meaningful economic development in the Hudson Valley. With shovels officially in the ground on the company”™s brand-new facility in Goshen, we”™re one major step closer to serving up hundreds of good-paying jobs in the region.”
Andy Berliner, CEO and co-founder of Amy”™s Kitchen, said: “From the very beginning, Senator Schumer has been very supportive of Amy”™s coming to Goshen. Not only has he helped us navigate the complex regulatory environment locally, but even went to the trouble of arranging the opportunity for us to meet local farmers in the area to discuss how we can source organic ingredients for our new facility and chaired the meeting personally. We are so excited that, with Senator Schumer”™s help, we now have the necessary approvals to begin building our kitchen in Goshen.”
To date, much of the infrastructure, including roadwork, has already been accomplished. Water for the project is being supplied by the city of Middletown. The town of Goshen expects Amy”™s Kitchen to start construction next month and be ready to open its doors by mid-2022, if not sooner.
New York state cooked up some tasty subsidies for Amy”™s to locate its frozen food distribution center in the town, offering up to $6.8 million in performance-based incentives. Empire State Development allowed up to $5.8 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits for job creation and a $1 million JOBS NOW grant.
In addition, the New York State Power Authority will kick in 1.2 megawatts of low-cost power under the ReCharge New York program, as well as giving a low-cost power application to the new facility.
Amy”™s Kitchen was founded by Andy and Rachel Berliner, who began baking their gluten-free vegetable pot pies in 1986 when their daughter, Amy, who bears the company”™s signature name, was born.
Both Berliners had a background in the food industry ”” Rachel in organic farming and Andy in marketing. Their vegetable pies went over so well with family members and friends that it inspired the couple to expand on the idea of creating take-out organic food in their Petaluma, California community. In 1988, the Berliners opened their first take-out kitchen. Today, the privately held company produces more than 240 different selections of frozen, non-GMO organic foods and is estimated to earn more than $500 million a year in sales.
The company had two food processing plants, one in Santa Rosa, California, and another in Medford, Oregon. The company provides free health care for its workers in both locations.
The insular family doesn”™t grant many interviews, but the couple had one with CBS back in 2017 and spoke about how they met while both were on a spiritual retreat in India. Perhaps that is what inspired the couple to set aside 60 acres of the 200-acre parcel in Goshen to build an outdoor gathering space for members for Science of the Soul, a group that hails from India. The Berliners”™ desire to build a gathering place for the faith-based movement reportedly held up final approval plans for several months.
The organic food industry has grown into a $47 billion a year business, but most credit that niche market”™s rise in popularity to Amy”™s Kitchen, which boasts more than 250 all-organic, 100 percent GMO-free frozen food offerings. The company employs more than 2,600 workers in the United States and is expected to produce more than 650 jobs when its manufacturing facility opens in Goshen.
