Hartwick College to use federal funding for craft brewing and food-science research

ONEONTA, N.Y. — Hartwick College in Oneonta will use federal funding totaling more than $123,000 for research and development to help the craft brewing and food industries in the Mohawk Valley.

Hartwick will use the funding to develop a laboratory and for education and training in brewing and food science.

U.S. Senators Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) made the announcement in a news release Gillibrand’s office distributed on Tuesday.

The federal government allocated the funding through the Appalachian Regional Commission, the lawmakers said.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership that awards grants to local governments, agencies, nonprofits. and schools for use in economic-development initiatives in the Appalachian Region, according to the commission’s website.

The Appalachian Regional Commission includes the governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chair, appointed by the U.S. president, the website says.

When combined with funding from the college and local sources, the project will total nearly $350,000 and could create 32 new jobs, the senators said.

“This grant will allow Hartwick College to develop a lab that will help support the Mohawk Valley craft-brewing industry by training the next generation of industry professionals in brewing and food science,” Schumer said in the news release.

He called craft brewing “a burgeoning industry in New York.”

The Center for Craft Food and Beverage will “effectively” lower costs, enable local businesses to “more effectively” produce, promote, and distribute their goods, and will provide professional-development opportunities for small businesses, Michael Tannenbaum, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Hartwick College, said in the release.

“The development of the craft food and beverage industry locally presents unique opportunities for research and internships for our students and jobs in emerging fields for our graduates,” said Tannenbaum. “The ultimate outcome of this project will be the improved capacity of craft food and beverage producers to meet demand for their products and to expand operations, retain existing jobs, and create new jobs.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com