Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1517428
V O L . X X X N O. V I M A R C H 1 8 , 2 0 2 4 26 O n track to enroll 100 members by June, Fork offers production space, equipment, assistance with licensing, marketing, and an online and popup marketplace. Further expansion is planned. A serial social entrepreneur with over 50 years of experience launching new enterprises and rebuild- ing old ones, Seretta founded the Sustainability Lab, a Yarmouth nonprofit, which took over Fork Food Lab in October 2018. Mainebiz: What led you to Fork Food Lab? Bill Seretta: e Sustainability Lab held its first New England Food System Innovation Challenge in 2015. e two guys who started Fork Food Lab won the competition. I got to understand what they were doing. ey opened Fork in 2016 and sold it in 2017 to a New York company, which then decided it was too small and were going to close it down in October 2018. ere were 25 members at that point. I contacted the owners, thinking this could be an important cornerstone for the local food system, particularly companies adding value to local foods. e model was pretty simple, but we didn't know what the demand curve would be. It was clear we needed to focus on particular strengths — pack- aged goods, caterers and food trucks. We had some of each. We inherited a $50,000 USDA grant, as a stipend to bring in members, and found 10 more. By December 2019, we were in the high 40s. at's when we started looking for a bigger space. en COVID hit. Some members couldn't pivot. We had 50 going into COVID and 25 by June 2020. Creating a hub for food entrepreneurs Bill Seretta leads Fork Food Lab's expansion, driving Maine's food sector B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY NONPROFIT BUSINESS LEADER Bill Seretta Executive director, Fork Food Lab Fork Food Lab forkfoodlab.com 95 Darling Ave., South Portland What it does: Nonprofit food business incubator and shared manufacturing and processing facility Employees: 7, adding 2 more in April Members: 75 Bill Seretta leads the nonprofit Fork Food Lab, a food business incubator and shared manufacturing and processing facility that moved from Portland to a larger retrofitted facility in South Portland last year. The space helps entrepreneurs develop restaurants, food trucks and food products, helping drive that sector of Maine's economy.