Union County officials have kicked off construction in Wingate on a new Food Innovation Center, a 25,000-square-foot hub that county leaders say could be a game changer for local farmers and small food businesses. The facility is designed to offer shared commercial-kitchen space, processing equipment and refrigerated storage so producers can move beyond farmers markets and into wholesale and retail shelves across the Charlotte region.
County leaders, including Union County Board Chair Brian Helms, described the project as a rare chance to pair agri-business with economic development and to give smaller producers a real path to grow, according to WCNC. The center is a partnership between Union County, Wingate University, the Town of Wingate and the N.C. Cooperative Extension’s Union County Center, bringing local government and higher education under one roof to help producers scale up and reach broader markets.
What the center will include
The Golden LEAF Foundation awarded Union County a $1 million grant to help outfit the site, and county documents say that money will go toward kitchen equipment, coolers and freezers as the Food Hub expands on-site, according to a Golden LEAF grant summary. The foundation’s description notes that as the Food Hub grows, it could boost the number of producers served from roughly 30 to 35 today to more than 100, with shared processing and wholesale distribution giving small operators access to bigger buyers.
Education and workforce pipeline
County officials are pitching the center as a training ground as much as a production space. Existing farm-to-table and food-hub efforts in Union County are expected to be joined by a steady flow of students, with Union County Public Schools’ AgTech classes and related food-systems coursework set up to create a pipeline of interns and future workers for the facility, according to Union County Public Schools.
Timeline and next steps
Construction is expected to take about 18 months, and the county anticipates opening the Food Innovation Center in summer 2027, officials told WCNC. Once open, county leaders say the facility will give licensed food entrepreneurs a lower-cost launchpad to test products, build wholesale accounts and scale their businesses without taking on the heavy up-front costs of a standalone commercial kitchen.
