Tasty Blend Foods Expands
its Manufacturing Facility
In June, Tasty Blend Foods, the manu-
facturer of dry mixes and bakery goods,
celebrated the completion of its $3 million
facility expansion in Putnam County.
This expansion follows Tasty Blend’s
acquisition of Snak-Time Foods Corpo-
ration, moving the Snak-Time line of
breakfast sandwiches and biscuits to
West Virginia. The $3 million expansion
adds 22,000 square feet to the facil-
ity’s existing 48,000 square feet and
adds a new production line. As a result,
Tasty Blend will add 20 new jobs to its
workforce.
“By bringing Snak-Time Foods to West
Virginia, we can provide top-quality
products and service the needs of our
food service and retail customers with
true made-in-West-Virginia products,”
says Tasty Blend President Roy Elswick.
WVU Potomac State College
Students Produce Pure Maple Syrup
This past spring, agriculture students
at West Virginia University Potomac
State College in Keyser, WV, tapped
approximately 500 of the more than
80
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
opportunity to work together and solve
problems as they arise. In most cases, to
have a sustainable farming enterprise,
you should have some diversity of prod-
ucts to meet demand in the market, and
this project no doubt diversifies the skill
set of our students.”
This past spring, the SAGE program
officially opened the Sugar Shack, lo-
cated across from the Gustafson Farm,
to serve as the home to the college’s new
maple syrup production.
5,000 trees located on the college’s farms
to manufacture maple syrup.
The students’ endeavor ties in with
the college’s Sustainable Agriculture
Entrepreneurship (SAGE) program that
explores the diverse opportunities avail-
able to students who are interested in
agriculture. Students are learning how
to start a business producing specialty
crops, meats, forestry products or related
services.
“West Virginia has an abundance of
sugar maple trees, and we are able to offer
a really unique experience to our students
on the farm,” says Corey Armstrong,
SAGE program director. “Hands-on
learning also provides students with the
Hodges Named President of
National Community and Economic
Development Association
Adam Hodges, a West Virginia State
University (WVSU) extension agent, has
been named president of the National
Association of Community and Economic
Development Extension Professionals
(NACDEP). This not only marks the first
such appointment for the university but
also the first time the position has been
held by a representative from one of the
nation’s 1890 land grant universities.
Hodges, WVSU’s Fayette County ex-
tension agent, began a three-year term
earlier this summer. Comprised of 300