FoodBIN 2008
Food Business Incubation Network Annual Conference
October 4-8, 2008
What: FoodBIN 2008 – The 6th Annual Conference of the Food Business Incubation Network!
The FoodBIN conference has become the world's leading venue for advancing best practices in food
business incubation, and identifying programs, services, and partnerships that can maximize
impacts to food and agribusinesses within regional economies
Why: Food business incubation is a globally recognized tool for regional economic development, job
creation, and enhancing a community’s entrepreneurial climate. In addition, a successfully executed
incubation program can play a major role in community “buy local” initiatives, food sustainability, and
in poverty alleviation and nutrition education. The FoodBIN 2008 conference agenda will provide an
overview on best practices in food business incubation, and will focus on funding opportunities for
food incubator programs and also for clients, that originate at both public and private sector sources.
Who: This program will be extremely relevant for anyone that is currently managing, developing, or
considering a business incubator, business development support center, economic development
program, or providing any type of entrepreneurship training and counseling to the food and agricultural
industries within their community.
When: October 4 – 8, 2008.
 Pre-conference tours will be held on October 4-5. Note: there will be a special preconference tour of the just-constructed 23,000 sq. ft. business incubator facility of the Rutgers
Food Innovation Center on Sunday October 5, from 10:15am – 5:15pm. This field trip will
include a tour to this USDA and FDA-inspected food business incubation facility, which helps
farmers, agricultural cooperatives, startups and established food companies with the business
and technology expertise that is needed to bring new products to market. In addition, the tour
will also include a valuable networking opportunity, and an overview of the series of
presentations on food business incubation that will occur during the balance of the conference.
 Conference seminars will be held on October 6-8
Where: Cherry Hill, NJ at the Crowne Plaza Hotel
How: This conference will be held as a special segment of the Community Food Security Coalition
(CFSC) Annual Conference, and approximately 1,000 attendees are expected. The theme of the CFSC
conference is Restoring Our Urban and Rural Communities with Healthy Food.
To review the complete conference agenda, pre-conference tours, and hotel
accommodations, and to register for this conference, please visit the Community
Food Security Coalition conference website at: http://healthyfoodconference.com/
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FoodBIN 2008
Food Business Incubation Network Annual Conference
Seminar Session 1 of 5
Monday, October 6, 11:15am – 12:45pm
Food and Agribusiness Incubation - A Catalyst for Regional Economic
Development
Presenters:
 Lou Cooperhouse, Director, Rutgers Food Innovation Center
 Ron Tanner, Vice President, National Association for the Specialty Food Trade
Description:
Business incubation is a proven tool for regional economic development, in which jobs in a community can be
created and retained, and a community’s entrepreneurial climate can be dramatically enhanced. Over 7,000
business incubators and small business support centers exist worldwide, according to the National Business
Incubation Association, however very few incubators exist that focus on the food and agricultural sector. This
session will identify best practices in food business incubation, goals and types of services that can be provided,
and the unique needs for incubation programs that focus on the food and agricultural sectors. Examples of
award-winning specialty food products will be identified, developed by entrepreneurs in communities across
America, which serve to illustrate the keys for success in the food marketplace that must be met by industry
startups.
Speaker Information:
Lou Cooperhouse
Director
Rutgers Food Innovation Center
450 East Broad Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Ron Tanner
Vice President
National Association for the Specialty Food Trade
120 Wall Street, 27th Floor
New York, NJ 10005
Email: Cooperhouse@njaes.rutgers.edu
Phone: 856-459-1900, ext. 4516
Website: www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu
Email: RTanner@NASFT.org
Phone: 212-482-6440
Website: www.nasft.org
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FoodBIN 2008
Food Business Incubation Network Annual Conference
Seminar Session 2 of 5
Monday, October 6, 2:15pm – 3:45pm
Food Business Incubation – One Size Does Not Fit All
Presenters:
 Caleb Zigas, La Cocina Community Kitchen
 Jan Tusick, Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center
 Larry Fisher, Appalachian Center for Enterprise Networks
 Ken Gossen, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
Description:
Food business incubation programs may have very different sponsoring agencies, organizational
structures, missions, clients, and types of services that are offered to entrepreneurs in their
communities. In this panel, you will meet directors from very successful incubator programs that
differ widely in the location of the program itself, the geographies that are served, the population base
that is targeted, the organization that provides support, types of funding that have been received, types
of fees that are charged, and the overall size and depth of the operation. Nevertheless, each of these
programs is highly adaptable, and is providing substantial impacts to food and agricultural clients
within their communities.
Speaker Information:
Caleb Zigas
Program Director
La Cocina Community Kitchen
2948 Folsom and 25th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Jan Tusick
Program and Commercialization Manager
Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center
Ronan, MT 59864
Email: caleb@lacocinasf.org
Phone: 415-824-2729, ext. 303
Website: http://www.lacocinasf.org/
Larry Fisher
Director of Business Incubation and Finance
Appalachian Center for Enterprise Networks
94 Columbus Road
Athens, OH 45701
Email: jt@ronan.net
Phone: 406-676-5901, ext. 4
Website: http://www.mtmountainmarket.org/
Ken Gossen
Director Food Processing Development
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development
6309 – 45 Street
Leduc AB, Canada T9E 7C5
Email: larryf@acenetworks.org
Phone: (740) 592-3854
Website: http://acenetworks.org/
Email: Ken.gossen@gov.ab.ca
Phone: 780-980-4860
Website:
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FoodBIN 2008
Food Business Incubation Network Annual Conference
Seminar Session 3 of 5
Tuesday, October 7, 11am – 12:30pm
State and Federal Programs for Funding Your Incubator, Your Community and
Your Clients
Presenters:
 Andrew Law, New Jersey State Director, USDA Rural Development
 Dionne Toombs, National Program Leader, Competitive Programs, USDA CSREES
 Elizabeth Tuckermanty, National Program Leader, Competitive Programs, USDA CSREES
 Margaret Brennan, Director of Economic Development, Rutgers NJAES
Description:
A number of state and federal agencies provide funding assistance that can directly support food
business incubation programs, as well as small farms and food industry entrepreneurs. Funding can
include grants, loans and loan guarantees, and can be used for a broad variety of purposes including
value-added agricultural production, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, organic agriculture,
manure and nutrient management, workforce development and safety, agriculture markets and trade,
farm financial management, ecosystems, facility or utility improvements, broadband and distance
learning education systems, and business-cooperative programs. The purpose of these programs is to
provide essential needed capital and technical assistance that helps to improve the economic prosperity
of small businesses. An overview of both federal and state funding programs will be described in this
seminar, which can provide great benefits to incubator programs as well as to incubator clients.
Speaker Information:
Dionne Toombs
National Program Leader, Competitive Programs
Andrew Law
State Director, Rural Development
United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 8000 Midlantic Drive
5th Floor North, Suite 500
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 2201
Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054
Washington, DC 20250-2201
Email: dtoombs@csrees.usda.gov
Phone: (202) 401 - 2138
Website: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/
Elizabeth Tuckermanty
National Program Leader, Competitive Programs
Email: andrew.law@nj.usda.gov
Phone: (856) 787-7700
Website: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/nj/
Margaret Brennan
Director of Economic Development
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
United States Department of Agriculture
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Rutgers University
450 East Broad Street
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 2201
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Washington, DC 20250-2201
Email: etuckermanty@csrees.usda.gov
Phone: (202) 205 - 0241
Website: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/
Email: Brennan@njaes.rutgers.edu
Phone: 856-459-1900, ext. 4518
Website: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/
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FoodBIN 2008
Food Business Incubation Network Annual Conference
Seminar Session 4 of 5
Tuesday, October 7, 2:15pm – 3:45pm
Microenterprise, Private-Sector and Foundation Programs for Funding Your
Incubator, Your Community, and Your Clients
Presenters:
 Jim Duffy, Partner in Charge, Food Industry Group, Wiss & Company
 Diane Holtaway, Associate Director Client Services, Rutgers Food Innovation Center
 Carol Coren, Business Association Mentor, Rutgers Food Innovation Center
Description:
In order to assure critically needed cash flow, and potentially create a financially self-sustaining incubator
program, it is critical that funding streams be identified from both public and non-public sources. Food business
incubators are somewhat unique, in that a number of revenue sources can exist for services that can be provided.
In this seminar, both traditional and non-traditional sources of funding will be described, that can benefit your
incubator program as well as your incubator clients. Funding entities and sponsors may include corporations
and service providers, foundations and philanthropic agencies, microenterprise programs and banks, angel
investors and venture capital sources, etc. In addition, this seminar will provide basics on how a small
company’s financial operations should be established, so that it can price its products appropriately and
competitively, minimize its legal and financial risks, and maximize its potential for external investments.
Speaker Information:
James Duffy
Partner in Charge, Food Industry Group
Wiss & Company
354 Eisenhower Parkway
Livingston, NJ 07039
Email: JDuffy@wiss.com
Phone: 973-994-9400
Website: www.wiss.com
Carol Coren
Business Association Mentor
Rutgers Food Innovation Center
450 East Broad Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Diane Holtaway
Associate Director, Client Services
Rutgers Food Innovation Center
450 East Broad Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Email: Holtaway@njaes.rutgers.edu
Phone: 856-459-1900, ext. 4514
Website: www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu
Email : carolcoren@aol.com
Phone: 215-939-4094
Website : www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu
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FoodBIN 2008
Food Business Incubation Network Annual Conference
Seminar Session 5 of 5
Wednesday, October 8, 10:30am – 12:00pm
FoodBIN 2009 and Beyond:
Networks and Collaborations that Increase Value of FoodBIN to the International
Food and Agribusiness Incubation Community
Facilitators:
 Lou Cooperhouse, Director, Rutgers Food Innovation Center
 Margaret Brennan, Director Economic Development, Rutgers NJAES
Description:
The Food Business Incubation Network (FoodBIN) is an organization composed of food and agribusiness
incubators, innovation centers, shared-use kitchens, and others allied to the field, who are dedicated to providing
best practices to farmers, agricultural cooperatives, food startups, domestic and international food companies,
and retail and foodservice establishments. There have now been six FoodBIN conferences, and the future of
FoodBIN will be discussed during this seminar. A business plan has been developed for FoodBIN, which will
be described, and this seminar will provide an opportunity for attendees at this conference to brainstorm how
FoodBIN can potentially provide even greater benefits to the food and agribusiness incubation community, and
result in potential partnerships and collaborations that leverage collective resources and increase economic
impacts.
Speaker Information:
Lou Cooperhouse
Director
Rutgers Food Innovation Center
450 East Broad Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Margaret Brennan
Director of Economic Development
New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
450 East Broad Street
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
Email: Cooperhouse@njaes.rutgers.edu
Phone: 856-459-1900, ext. 4516
Website: www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu
Email: Brennan@njaes.rutgers.edu
Phone: 856-459-1900, ext. 4518
Website: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/
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