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Property Acquisition,
Design & Planning
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
Beaver County
Food Hub
A transformative Food Hub, built on a former brownfield along the Ohio River, that will redefine access to food, workforce training, and economic opportunity for generations to come.
A region
ready to
rise
Situated within the rapidly growing Borough of Ambridge, and mere minutes from the Allegheny County line, The Hub will serve residents, entrepreneurs, and farmers in numerous southwest Pennsylvania communities.
“Making significant improvements in and beating back what many would say is the inevitable decline and implosion of a post-industrial community—isn’t this why you go to a public-policy school? Don’t people in these jurisdictions deserve to live in an improving set of circumstances?”— Mayor John Fetterman — Harvard Magazine, 2010
“I came to Washington to fight for forgotten communities and urban areas are notably underserved when it comes to food security and nutrition,”— Senator John Fetterman — Senate Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing, 2023
The Beaver County Food Hub is a clear solution to glaring problems in our local food system.
Ambridge
Beaver County, Pennsylvania
The location of the Beaver County Food Hub was determined through extensive research and stakeholder consultation. Ambridge represents the perfect mix of need, opportunity, and alignment with municipal priorities.
Why Ambridge?
Ambridge is in motion thanks to an EPA Area-Wide Planning grant that has led to a comprehensive revitalization master plan — encompassing business attraction, new housing, riverfront development, greenspace, recreation, and more.
The Food Hub is the first new construction project to emerge from Ambridge’s area-wide plan, becoming a catalyst for an estimated $100M+ in future investment in downtown Ambridge and beyond.
The documents provided here represent years of research, planning, and community alignment — and a clear case for why Ambridge is the perfect place for the Beaver County Food Hub.
Six facilities
One ecosystem
The Hub is a fully integrated facility — not a collection of unrelated programs. Each element was designed to address a specific, documented gap in Beaver County's food system, and each one strengthens the others.
Training Kitchens
State-of-the-art culinary workforce training, hands-on farm-to-fork education with placement pipelines into the food industry
Commissary Kitchens
Modular professional kitchen space for food entrepreneurs launching and scaling local food businesses
Food Business Incubator
On-site retail space for emerging food enterprises to test concepts, build a customer base, and grow financial sustainability before launching a stand-alone business
Indoor Farmers Market
Year-round indoor market selling local produce and value added food products — all of which are SNAP-accessible
Indoor Agricultural Space
Four-season growing, agricultural education, and community cultivation connecting the region to locally grown food year-round
Community Event Space
Dedicated event space available for community gatherings, educational programming, and civic collaboration
“This project is bridging communities and creating opportunities for community collaboration — leading to expanded access for SNAP / EBT, promoting food systems, and providing a model for greater food equity across the entire region.”
Jack Manning· Commissioner, Beaver County, PA
$6.815 million
for a region
of 160,000
Excluding a $3.28M RACP allocation, which requires matching funds to unlock, all other project funds have been secured. All costs are preliminary and will be refined during final design, engineering, and contractor bidding.
Federal partnership completes the picture.
Projected Total Project Budget
Project Funding Summary
Excluding a $3.28M RACP allocation, which requires matching funds to unlock, all other project funds have been secured. All costs are preliminary and will be refined during final design, engineering, and contractor bidding.
Community Support
People across the state are standing behind this initiative. Join the growing movement demanding investment in Beaver County.
Returns on
investment
- Direct engagement across all facets of the regional food system
- Paid work opportunities through food industry placement pipelines
- Business development incubation for 20–30 local food enterprises
- Comprehensive internships in food production, service, and management
- SNAP accessibility at a permanent, year-round indoor market
A permanent indoor farmers market with SNAP/EBT accessibility permanently redirects tens of millions in annual regional food spending to Beaver County farms.
State-of-the-art training kitchens creating a skilled, employed food workforce — from entry-level culinary skills to advanced food business management.
Permanent employment across culinary operations, market management, education, and community programming.
Direct and indirect economic contribution to Beaver County through wages, local sourcing, and increased foot traffic.
Trusted
Experienced
Ready
Real transformation requires real partnership. The coalition behind the Beaver County Food Hub — spanning municipal government, nonprofits, farmers, entrepreneurs, and residents — didn’t happen by accident. It’s how The Hub was designed from day one, and it’s what sets this project apart: a community of leaders who are serious, committed, and prepared to manage this exciting project to completion.
Founded in 2019, Crop & Kettle has spent seven years combating community food deterioration through workforce training, economic development, and agricultural education. Timothy’s farm-to-fork program combines rigorous technical culinary training with life skills, moving individuals from poverty toward self-sufficiency. The Hub is the organization’s most ambitious vision yet — and its most necessary.
RiverWise exists to organize community voice and power so residents can shape the trajectories of Ambridge and surrounding communities. Daniel serves on the boards of over thirty nonprofit and civic organizations, writes a regular column on community integration, and brings the network and strategic experience to make this project a landmark for the region — and a replicable model for the nation.
As Borough Manager of Ambridge with over 3 decades of experience in municipal government, Mario Leone has spent the last five years engineering one of Western Pennsylvania’s most-watched municipal turnarounds — attracting 50+ new businesses and earning a top-five rising SWPA municipality ranking. Mario’s partnership on The Beaver County Food Hub is itself a statement: proof that when civic and municipal leaders align behind a shared vision, transformative projects become possible.