BURRILLVILLE — U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., joined the owners of Daniele Inc., brothers Davide and Stefano Dukcevichm, for a discussion on growing Rhode Island’s food economy and a “hard hat” tour last week of Daniele’s new $60 million charcuterie factory.
The facility, which is nearing completion, will be the largest and most modern plant of its kind in the world, according to the senator.
Daniele, Inc. has its roots in Italy, where it was founded seven decades ago before coming to Rhode Island in 1976, when Vlado Dukcevich came to America and built the first Daniele Inc. prosciutto plant in Burrillville. Now a third-generation, family-owned and operated company, Daniele Inc. produces premium gourmet meats using family recipes, traditional Old World methods, and new technologies in their climate-controlled facilities that replicate conditions in Italy and ensure maximum freshness, quality, and safety.
In recent years, Daniele Inc. has doubled in size from 150 employees in 2009 to more than 350 today. The company started in one facility and now has three separate plants with a fourth soon to open. Their newest facility produces around 200,000 pounds of salami each week.
When considering whether to expand their operations or pack up and move to other states that were trying to lure Daniele Inc. away with tax incentives, the Dukcevich brothers decided to commit to the Ocean State, Reed’s office said in a press release. They began building the new facility just down the road and have since launched a new line of artisanal, locally made charcuterie using recipes that were developed with help from Johnson & Wales staff, ingredients from New England farmers, and labels that were designed by Rhode Island School of Design students. The new products took home two honors this year from the Good Food Awards, which are presented in San Francisco each year to American food producers and farmers in categories like cheese, chocolate, pickles, lunch meat and beer.
The senator praised the Dukcevich family. “They have really strong roots here and have supported local food banks and tried to help local commerce survive and thrive. We want to do everything we can to keep businesses like Daniele Inc. in Rhode Island and help them grow. I am working on a number of fronts to ensure companies like this can succeed, including trying to boost exports and make Rhode Island a regionally integrated, sustainable food hub,” said Reed.
Reed said he has been a champion of the “eat local” movement in Rhode Island and has long supported efforts to help boost Rhode Island’s food economy. In 2004, he helped pass the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act, which authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide grants to state departments of agriculture for the purposes of enhancing the competitiveness of specialty crops. Earlier this year the state received over a quarter million dollars to help promote Ocean State agricultural products.
Reed is also a co-sponsor of the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act, which seeks to spur job creation by improving federal farm bill programs that support local and regional farm and food systems. Many of the provisions in this bill were included in the Farm Bill passed by Congress earlier this year.
“This is the fabric of Rhode Island,” said U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) about Block Island. “I often tell people to come to the island. It’s a wonderful place to live and visit. I think it’s one of the loveliest places in the country.”
SOUTH KINGSTOWN - The University of Rhode Island will receive more than $475,000 in federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to launch a multiyear project...
Senate Democrats demanded that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) do more to protect investors.
Mayor Scott Avedisian never thought he’d see the day when he and a group of dignitaries would celebrate $250 million in improvement projects at T.F. Green Airport that had long been opposed by the city.
The state Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the fishermen of Newport, hosted a grand opening last week at State Pier Nine in Newport for the new Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen.
With the U.S. Senate expected to consider legislation that would lower student loan payments, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse held a discussion Thursday...