Gold Coast salad packing facility creates jobs thanks to RED Grant
Belinda Frentz
11 September 2023
A South-East Queensland salad and herb supplier is developing a high-tech packing facility with a Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant, creating up to eight jobs.
Coastal Hydroponics and Salad Makers will be home to the packing facility and director Belinda Frentz said it would help increase production, enabling produce to be processed, stored, and distributed from greenhouse to consumer within one day.
"The state-of-the-art packing facility will feature temperature-controlled monitoring systems and enable increased production for our family business," she said.
The construction of the new packing facility will be completed by next year, creating up to eight direct, full-time jobs.
"These jobs include skilled technicians to picking and planting roles," Belinda said.
“The Rural Economic Development Grant from the Palaszczuk Government means we can move ahead with the packing facility quickly.”
Coastal Hydroponics and Salad Makers is one of 24 businesses approved for the fifth round of the competitive RED grants program with a total funding of $3.9 million. Overall, the fifth round of the RED Grants program is expected to create up to 215 direct, long-term jobs.
Grants are available for up to $200,000 with a 50 per cent cash contribution requirement from applicants to fund projects which generate economic and employment opportunities related to primary production value chains across rural and remote Queensland.
Over five years, the Palaszczuk Government’s RED Grants program has provided a total of $13.3 million in funding to support 59 successful regional agribusiness projects, worth more than $52.4 million and estimated to create over 2,500 new direct and indirect jobs.
A sixth round of RED Grants, supporting Indigenous-owned agribusinesses and projects aimed at low-emissions agriculture, has been allocated for the 2023-24 financial year, with applications to open later this year.
For more information about the RED Grant scheme visit the RED Grant scheme page.
The Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) administers the RED Grant scheme on behalf of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
