Case Study: Expanding Food Production Opportunities in Chicago

Located on Chicago’s West Side, The Hatchery is a non-profit food and beverage incubator dedicated to helping local entrepreneurs build & grow successful businesses. Through their cutting-edge kitchen facilities, robust entrepreneurship curriculum, and partnerships with generous corporate sponsors and foundations, they support local food and beverage entrepreneurs, cultivate local job opportunities, and accelerate local economic growth.

Working in collaboration with the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC), The Hatchery is working to help place individuals from Chicago’s West Side into jobs with Hatchery Members and other food and beverage companies across the city. ICNC set a goal of getting 900 people from nearby neighborhoods employed over five years as employees in Hatchery related companies and/or Hatchery entrepreneurs.

The EDA University Center @ UIC worked with ICNC to provide research toward developing workforce development strategies to benefit people in the Austin, Garfield Park, Humboldt Park and North Lawndale neighborhoods of Chicago. A key focus was on understanding barriers to employment, determining areas for growth in the food industry, and identifying strategies to connect residents to employment and entrepreneurship through community-based organizations and economic development groups.

• Research Plan
• Project Findings Summary
• Workforce Databook
• Employer Survey Results
• Employer Interviews
• Workforce Development Organizations Interviews
• Food Production Industry Analysis
• Food Businesses in ICNC Area based on Fall 2018 Business Permits
• Shared Kitchen Users in Chicago by License Types (Fall 2018)
• Examples of Occupational Sheets
  • Baker
  • Food Service Manager
  • Retail Supervisor
• Background Research
  • Good Food Purchasing Program (November 2017)
  • Food + Workforce: Connecting Growth and Good Jobs for NYC‘s Emerging Specialty Food Manufacturing Sector (April 2015)
  • Fulfilling the Promise of Career Pathways: Strategies that Support Career Advancement (October 2018)
  • Navigating the Complex Approval Process for Food Entrepreneurs in Chicago: Part 1 (Fall 2018)
  • Navigating the Complex Approval Process for Food Entrepreneurs in Chicago: Part 2 (Fall 2018)