Meat processors one in the QC get help as part of food-supply chain

May 2024 · 1 minute read

More than a dozen meat processors in Iowa – one in Maquoketa – are getting financial help from a special food-chain fund.

Rockdale Locker got $50,000 from the Butchery Innovation and Revitalization Fund. State lawmakers created the program last year to strengthen Iowa’s food-supply chain that struggled during the pandemic.

In a time where just about every business has been hit by the pandemic, the owners of Rockdale Locker say they feel fortunate to receive a state grant.

This business is really the merger of two other small Maquoketa businesses, a merger now set for expansion.

“One of our goals in bringing the Locker to Maquoketa was to provide high quality jobs so not minimum wage jobs, jobs that actually pay a living wage,” said Heather Moore, Rockdale Locaker co-owner. “As of right now we have seven brand-new jobs that we have brought to Maquoketa just in the locker, and probably an additional three to five positions within our retail area.”

They’re also working with the local community college on some training programs.

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