CU-partnered center in Geneva receives USDA Secretary's Honor Award

By Kelvin Tan

The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (NECFE) in Geneva, N.Y., has received a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary's Honor Award in the category "Supporting Increased Economic Opportunities and Improved Quality of Life in Rural Areas."

Padilla-Zakour

Olga Padilla-Zakour, assistant professor of food science and technology at Cornell and director of NECFE, accepted the award on behalf of the center during the 58th award ceremony, held in the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, D.C., June 25.

"The Honor Awards highlight the dedication and talents of USDA employees who contribute in so many ways to improving the world around us," said Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman. "Each of these honorees is to be commended for their accomplishments in public service."

The Secretary's Honor Awards acknowledge outstanding contributions to agriculture, the consumers of agricultural products and the American public, and are the most significant awards bestowed by the USDA. The honorees were nominated by the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). The Honor Awards Program was created in 1947.

NECFE was cited for "development of a highly productive center which provides comprehensive assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs that resulted in sustainable economic development of rural communities." Cited were group leader Padilla-Zakour, Judy L. Anderson, Donald L. Downing, Thomas A. Gibson, Cheryl A. Leach, Chang Y. Lee, Sarah J. Lincoln, Kawaljit S. Tandon and Robert J. Weybright, from Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva. Dennis E. Shaw was named from Cornell's Ithaca campus. Catherine W. Donnelly, Susan F. Callahan, Michele R. Cranwell, Cecilia A. Golnazarian, Jane M. Kolodinsky, Todd J. Pritchard and Brian A. Norder were named from the University of Vermont.

"This award exemplifies our department's unique mission and service to New York state and the regional food industry," said Chang Y. Lee, chair of the Department of Food Science and Technology at Geneva. "NECFE has contributed tremendously to our local and state's economy for the last four years. Under Dr. Padilla-Zakour's leadership, her group has done an outstanding job."

NECFE was funded by a $3.8 million, four-year grant from the USDA in 2000. The partnership between Cornell and the University of Vermont provides comprehensive assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs, helps promote sustainable economic development in rural communities, maintains the rural landscape and protects the environment. NECFE addresses food safety and business development and marketing for small-scale food processing through one-on-one assistance, workshops and conferences.

Since its inception, NECFE has worked with more than 500 entrepreneurs who needed food safety evaluations and regulatory compliance for over 1,500 new products. More than 1,800 food prototypes were analyzed for safety and commercial production feasibility, more than 3,100 inquiries for assistance on marketing specialty foods were answered and more than 300 entrepreneurs received direct assistance. (For more on NECFE, see http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html.)

Padilla-Zakour joined Cornell in 1997 and became an assistant professor of food processing at the Geneva Agricultural Experiment Station in 1999. She has been the director of NECFE since its inception. She received her licentiate in food technology from the University of Costa Rica in 1983, and she earned both her master's and doctorate in food science and technology from Cornell, in 1988 and 1991, respectively.