Amy’s Kitchen is bringing 200 jobs to Pocatello, taking over the Heinz plant that closed last summer and idled 400 workers. A specialty frozen food processor, Amy’s Kitchen expects to begin operations before year’s end and employ up to 1,000 people within several years.
Company officials were attracted to the Pocatello plant by an available workforce with food processing skills and access to crops which represent key ingredients in their product lines. Incentives from state and county government also played an important role in recruiting the company.
Based in Petaluma, California, Amy’s Kitchen produces 88 frozen meals from pizzas and pocket sandwiches to pot pies. It does not use chemical preservatives.