By Joshua Burd
A wholesale food distributor has proposed building a new 236,000-square-foot facility in Camden in connection with a nearly $52.5 million tax credit package from the state.
Benjamin Foods LLC, which was approved for the incentive on Tuesday, currently operates three warehouse and distribution buildings in Pennsylvania but has proposed consolidating those operations in New Jersey. The company has identified a site at 332 South 17th St. in Camden as a potential location for its new facility, which would include food processing and manufacturing.
An EDA board memo says Benjamin Foods would also move its headquarters from Hatboro, Pennsylvania, as part of the proposed $61 million investment in New Jersey. An alternative is for the company to stay in Pennsylvania, where it could profitably operate out of three existing facilities for many years and invest in new equipment to expand.
Benjamin Foods distributes groceries, meats, poultry, seafood, dairy and produce to restaurants, corporate and private foodservice clients and government agencies throughout the mid-Atlantic region, the EDA said. The company has told the authority it would employ more than 300 people at the proposed facility in Camden, which is just off Admiral Wilson Boulevard.
