The Nashville Town Council agreed to sell 55 acres to Ripe Revival, a North Carolina produce company, for the future home of its Innovation Campus.
The transformative commercial hub aims to become a national destination for farming, food, philanthropy and community. The Nashville Town Council approved the development agreement Tuesday at its council
meeting. The agreement allows Ripe Revival to purchase the land at the West Nashville Commerce Center on Cooke Road for $150,000. The agreement requires Ripe Revival to invest $10 million over 10 years, construct a 50,000-square-foot commercial building and create 25 new full-time jobs with an annual wage at or above Nash County’s median wage.
“We are excited to welcome Ripe Revival to Nashville, a community with a proud agricultural heritage,” Nashville Mayor Brenda Brown said. “This innovation campus represents an impactful $10 million investment, creating 25 new full-time jobs and driving growth in our local economy. Not only will it advance produce processing innovation, but it will also create a destination where people can learn about agriculture firsthand and experience the fruits of local farming. We’re proud to support Ripe Revival’s vision and look forward to the positive impact this project will have on Nashville’s future.”
Nash County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robbie B. Davis added: “Nash County was proud to work with the Town of Nashville to assist Ripe Revival in its expansion efforts and even more proud that they will continue to call Nash County home, creating new jobs and investment in agriculture advancements that will provide for our community for years to come.” The company, which is currently operating in Rocky Mount, has already secured a $1.9 million state grant to help break ground on the 50,000 square-foot vegetable processing facility. The new facility will enable Ripe Revival to increase its capacity to process a projected 660 million pounds of produce per year; much of its excess grade produce that cannot be sold to grocery stores. Using farm excess to increase food access has been Ripe Revival’s mission since it started in 2018. The new facility will pioneer agricultural diversification, processing innovation and economic growth for North Carolina and other producers.
Ripe Revival strives for 100% utilization of farm crops by not only growing and harvesting their own produce but also working with local and regional farmers to get more produce out of the fields. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of farm crops are left or lost in the field for not being marketable while still being edible. Ripe Revival has a diverse approach to solving this problem: Ripe Revival Produce helps farmers find new markets for their produce outside grocery stores; Ripe Revival Provisions creates value-added products and consumer packaged goods; Ripe Revival Market sells and delivers weekly subscription boxes of local produce, meat and goods direct to consumers.
The company also has a nonprofit, Ripe for Revival, which operates a fleet of pay-what-you-can mobile markets to serve the community — especially those facing food insecurity — in eastern and central North Carolina. “The most exciting thing about this campus is it gives us a place to stretch our legs,” said Will Kornegay, founder of Ripe Revival. “Every dollar we invest will go toward a campus that will enable each of our businesses to become what we fully intend and have a larger impact from the farm to consumer and beyond.” While the vegetable processing facility is the first project on the Innovation Campus, future plans
include a workforce development center, retail market, food hall, event pavilion, amphitheater, trails and lodging. The completion of the entire project is subject to available funding from operations, grants and other sources and to market conditions.
The vegetable processing facility is supported by a $1.9 million grant awarded by the N.C. Department of Agriculture in September as part of $12.4 million in awards to N.C. food manufacturers and processors. The grants — awarded through the N.C. Agricultural Manufacturing and Processing Initiative (NCAMPI) — aim to increase value-added goods and products manufactured in the state. Kornegay hopes to break ground on the vegetable processing facility in February 2025. Once the processing facility is completed, Ripe Revival will move its operation from Rocky Mount to Nashville.
In addition to the N.C. Department of Agriculture, other key partners supporting this project include the N.C. Department of Commerce, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, North Carolina Community College System, Nash Community College, Nash County, the Nash County Department of Economic Development and the Town of Nashville.
ABOUT RIPE REVIVAL: In 2018, entrepreneur Will Kornegay started Ripe Revival to help farmers find markets for their imperfect produce. Ripe Revival uses the produce to create value added products and consumer packaged goods as well as offer delivery of food subscription boxes to consumers’ homes from the Triangle to the coast. In 2021, Kornegay started Ripe for Revival, the company’s nonprofit arm to operate a fleet of pay-what-you-can mobile markets to address food insecurity in North Carolina. The nonprofit’s fleet of five buses and two trailers sell local produce, meat and dairy to the public at up to 18 sites per week in Beaufort, Edgecombe, Granville, Halifax, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt, Sampson and Wake counties. The company’s innovative approach to addressing food insecurity has garnered media attention from Southern Living, Our
State, WRAL, WITN, WNCT, Public Radio East and more. Info: riperevival.com.
To learn more about jobs, available sites and buildings and economic opportunities in Nash County, go to https://selectnashnc.com/.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
For Ripe Revival: Andrea Weigl, (919) 518-7679, andrea@weiglcommunications.com
For Nash County and Town of Nashville: Susan Phelps, (252) 459-9868, susan.phelps@nashcountync.gov