A Meaty Economic Boost for Our Region

Every now and then an organization has the ability to leave a genuinely positive mark on its surrounding communities. The Hunts Point Cooperative Market has been able to do just that.

The 39 companies at the Hunts Point Cooperative Market in the Bronx are responsible for supplying meat products up and down the East Coast, New York City, and the entire region, including Mount Vernon. The Hunts Point Market’s beef, veal, lamb, pork and other products go to thousands of supermarkets, butcher shops, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, clubs and, of course, restaurants. The Cooperative is known as the largest distribution center of its kind, putting food on the lunch and dinner table of more than 25 million people daily. 

The companies at the Meat Market complex in Hunts Point employ an astounding 2,450 workers, the majority of whom are unionized and earning almost double the region’s living wage.  Companies there pay out some $116 million in total wages and benefits.

The Market also generates a whopping $3.2 billion in annual sales and supports $670 million of economic activity in New York City alone every year.  When you add to that to also supporting 7,500 additional jobs in food service, transportation, and more, the regional economic footprint is quite large.

“Massive supermarket chains throughout the Northeast such as Whole Foods and Fairway Markets look to us to provide top quality meats, including lamb, veal, beef and pork,” says Benjamin Mosner, who has been working with Mosner Family Brands since childhood and now serves as its Vice-President of Business Development. They are but one of the businesses that call Hunts Point their home.

This past Easter and Passover season alone, some of the individual companies in the meat market produced and distributed as much as 1.6 million pounds of meat weekly, with Hunts Point firms surpassing 50 million pounds in total during the holiday season.

“Easter and Passover are a crucial time for our businesses. The bump in sales allows for some of our lamb, veal and kosher businesses to be successful,” says Bruce Reingold, General Manager of the Hunts Point Cooperative Market. 

Beyond a doubt, the Meat Market Coop is one of New York State and the downstate region’s leading business and jobs incubators.  The estimated 2.5 billion pounds of meat provided annually in turn supplies many more additional food sector businesses.  

The Hunts Point Cooperative Market’s ability to create jobs, generate tax revenue, and contribute to the region’s economic development delivers a powerful, positive impact. These are the types of businesses that should be applauded for their work and encouraged to stay, grow and thrive. New York State is well served by them and it could certainly use more such economic contributors.

As families prepare for the summer months, local grocers across the Northeast will stock up on hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, ribs and other warm weather favorites. Let’s not forget which economic powerhouse supplied them.