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Chris Bailey

Manager at Leeward Community College, Wahiawa Value-Added Product Development Center

Chris Bailey is the manager of the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center (WVAPDC), which is administered by Leeward Community College.1 The 33,000-square-foot manufacturing and teaching facility aims to help entrepreneurs develop marketable food products.1 Production was scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2024.1

Bailey's passion for food and small business comes from his childhood, where he spent time in his mother and aunt’s Thai restaurant in Waipahu.12 He also worked in the food industry in Portland while studying business at Lewis & Clark College.1 Before moving back to Hawai'i for the WVAPDC position, Bailey was a business developer for the nonprofit Hacienda Community Development Corp., where he worked with Portland Mercado, a business incubator.1

Bailey and his staff have already trained two cohorts of 15 business leaders.1 The WVAPDC includes equipment for manufacturing that startups might not have access to otherwise, such as food-processing and packaging spaces, refrigerated storage, and a high-pressure processing system.1 The facility is part of a plan to revitalize Wahiawa.3

For more information, Chris Bailey can be contacted at crbailey@hawaii.edu.4

Highlights

May 13 · linkedin

Many thanks to KITV for recently profiling the Wahiawā Value Added Product Development Center on Island Life Live. Operations Coordinator Naomi Ng Bluesummers and I got to share more about the facility, its mission and capabilities to scale our local value-added CPG entrepreneurs with Mele Apana. It was a blast!

May 10 · linkedin

The team from Leeward Community College’s Office of Workforce Development and Wahiawā Value Added Product Development Center recently attended a workshop on cleaning and sanitizing in Hilo, with expert presentations and hands-on peer activities. Looking forward to sharing with our farmers and entrepreneurs. Mahalo Western Regional Center to Enhance Food Safety, Oregon State University, Dave Stone, Ph.D., University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and University of Hawaii Hilo for hosting.

We then visited a couple amazing stores that are fully committed to sourcing from all local growers and value added makers. Excited to spot a few ‘Āina to Mākeke companies like Pop Culture on the shelf. Mahalo Nālani Farm Store and Locavore Store for having us! Naomi Ng Bluesummers Christiane Bolosan-Yee

Related Questions

What inspired Chris Bailey to transition from Oregon to Hawai‘i?
How does the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center support local entrepreneurs?
What are some success stories from the entrepreneurs trained by Chris Bailey?
What specific equipment does the Wahiawā center provide for food processing?
How does Chris Bailey's background in food entrepreneurship influence his current role?
Chris Bailey
Chris Bailey, photo 1
Chris Bailey, photo 2
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Location

Portland, Oregon, United States