COOK COUNTY, GA (WTXL) - A new farm facility opened its doors on Monday in Cook County, and it is providing a huge boost to the local economy.
Local, state and federal agricultural leaders joined together at Grimmway Farms in Sparks to host a ribbon cutting.
The new facility is located off of US Highway 41.
Georgia Agricultural Commissioner Gary Black, US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, local and state economic development officials all joined together at one location, which means something big is coming to town.
"This is a big deal folks," said Perdue.
Grimmway Farms' new Cook County facility will now be joining the Georgia Grown family.
Not only will this bring millions of dollars into the local economy, but it also brings passion from the hearts of a family-owned business to a place where local products are supported more than anything by people within the community.
The goal of the Cook County facility is to better serve the company's east coast customers. And agricultural leaders said they will see in the coming months why Georgia is nature's favorite state.
Grimmway Farms has invested about $5 million dollars to bring the new facility to Georgia, which means the company now has operations in seven states across the US.
Eighty-thousand acres of vegetables nationwide and 10 million pounds of carrots are processed daily.
Georgia agriculture officials say they are happy to be part of the plan.
Joining the Georgia Grown family means a lot more than just a label on a product. Black said its means having support to start the new facility, keeping it maintained and providing regulations to help out the farmers' bottom line.
"Most of all, it's about his willingness to come invest your lives and treasure in the state of Georgia and provide jobs for Georgians and market opportunities to the state of Georgia and that does not go unnoticed by us," said Black.
This facility in Cook County will load trucks six days a week, February through May.
It will provide four permanent jobs and 50 temporary jobs.
