......Growing Our Workforce

Sharing Best Practices, Skills & Abilities

 The Mid-Willamette Food Processors Consortium exists to promote the growth and success of the food processing industry through sharing best practices and working toward improving workforce knowledge, skills and abilities.  

Food Processors Charter (Adopted on 7/20/06)      

Mission Statement
The Food Processors Consortium exists to promote the growth and success of the food processing industry  through sharing best practices and working toward improving workforce knowledge, skills and abilities.    

To reach this goal, the members of the consortium work together, and with public sector partners to:  

• • Learn about industry best practices and standards  
• • Share information to promote learning within the group  
• • Increase the abilities of the current and future workforce  
• • Raise the profile of the industry at the local and state level  
• • Identify and better use resources available to address industry needs  
• • Advocate for policies and reforms that will benefit food processing manufacturers    

Membership
Any food processing manufacturer and related companies operating in the Mid-Willamette Valley interested in  supporting our mission and goals    

Meetings & Attendance
Regular attendance at monthly meetings is expected. Other individuals, such as vendors, public partners or those with resource information may be invited to monthly meetings as needed.

Sustainability Plan
Consortium Structure and Representation
Consortium leadership will be elected by majority vote of the membership.  There is no term limit for leadership, but a membership vote to retain or change leadership will be made annually.   Officers may choose to step down at any time if the time commitment becomes too much and will be replaced by nomination and membership vote.

Officers include a chair and a co-chair, one of which will be present at all meetings.   The chair and/or the co-chair approve all consortium agendas, minutes, and other correspondence; and one or both will act as consortium representation on outside committees, boards, or workgroups.  A designee may be appointed as a consortium representative for special projects on a volunteer basis.  Any other decisions beyond general representation will be voted on by the membership.  Additional officers may be elected as needed by consortium vote.

Industry Member Responsibilities
Industry membership is open to any food processing manufacturer and related companies operating in the Mid-Willamette Valley interested in supporting our mission and goals.  Member companies who agree to the following requirements will be included in all grant-funded activities, trainings, projects, programs, and consortium publicity and recruitment.  There will be a document signed by a representative of member companies, and kept on file.   The agreement states that member companies will: 

• Have a representative present at all monthly meetings
• Have a counted vote regarding all consortium decisions
• Participate in annual needs assessments surveys and provide information when requests for information are sent to members
• Participate in planning and execution of consortium trainings, events,  tours, special projects, career fairs, outreach programs; and offer space or staff resources to host meetings, tours,  and events where appropriate or possible.
• Support and abide by decisions made at the consortium level in regard to programs, projects, and relationships with other groups or organizations
• Assist with efforts to recruit efforts workers and new members

Companies that fail to meet these requirements on a regular basis will not be considered for, and/or included, in consortium training plans and projects.

Funding
When possible, the consortium will actively pursue grant funding for current workforce training, workforce recruitment, membership retention, capacity building, and outreach.  Although membership dues are not charged at this time, members may be charged an annual fee or usage fee as deemed appropriate by the consensus of the membership, if additional funds are needed to support training, projects or events.  In the event that funds are collected from members, a consortium treasurer will be elected appropriately to oversee the expenditure of these funds.

Associate Membership
Non-industry organizations may be considered associate members or partners of the consortium. These associate members will be approved by vote of the consortium industry membership.   Associate members may give input, but do not have a counted vote on consortium issues.  Associate membership will be kept to a minimum.  Non-member participants such as vendors, public partners or those with resource information may be invited to monthly meetings as needed with approval of the chair and/or the co-chair. 

Sustainability and Outreach
Industry and Associate Memberships will be reviewed annually.  Where there has been a drop off in participation, organizations will be contacted by various active members to discuss any issues that may exist.  There will be planned outreach events at least annually to continue efforts to build capacity and recruit new active members.  These outreach events may include:  calling business, holding recruitment events, and/or developing published outreach materials.  The consortium supports efforts to extend the reach of the consortium to businesses in other regions if it will benefit the industry and support the mission of the consortium.

Join Us...
To become a member of the Mid-Willamette Food Processors Consortium, fill out the application form below and fax or mail to Karen Litvin at 503-581-4999, or 250 Church St. SE, Ste. 103; Salem, OR 97301.

 Food Processors Membership Application

Enterprise Contact
For more information regarding meetings, schedules and activities, please visit the events calendar on our website homepage or contact:

Karen Litvin
O: 503-581-4272
E: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it