Summer veggie snack mix: Product development and processing of excess summer vegetables into a value-added dried snack mix and soup blen

Project Overview

FNE08-651
Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 2008: $5,991.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2010
Region: Northeast
State: West Virginia
Project Leader:
Pam West
West Farm

Annual Reports

Commodities

  • Vegetables: beans, cucurbits, tomatoes

Practices

  • Farm Business Management: market study
  • Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems, new business opportunities

    Proposal summary:

    Excess summer vegetables present a dilemma for farmers in that there may be no ready market for a bountiful harvest, but the harvest itself represents time, money, and labor. The farmer will explore whether drying excess vegetables—summer squash, green beans, and heirloom tomatoes—for use in soup mix and snack mix will prove practical. Different seasonings and recipes will be tested, packaged, labeled, and sampled, and outreach will be through the sampling process, an existing educational program, and a conference on direct marketing.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.