MARYLAND FOOD CENTER AUTHORITY

ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

The Authority has twelve members. Eight are named to five-year terms by the Governor with Senate advice and consent. Four serve ex officio (Code 1957, Art. 83A, secs. 6-101 through 6-121).

ADVISORY COUNCIL
The Authority's Advisory Council consists of eleven members. Five are appointed by the Maryland Agricultural Commission, and five by produce merchants who are tenants in the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market. The Executive Director of the Authority is the nonvoting chair.

MARYLAND WHOLESALE FOOD CENTER

The Center includes the Maryland Wholesale Produce Market and the Maryland Wholesale Seafood Market. With many different types of food operations at one site, the Center provides quality food products efficiently and inexpensively and employs nearly 4,200 people. By February 1996, approximately 3,611,190 square feet of food warehousing space had been completed or was under construction within the Center.

MARYLAND WHOLESALE PRODUCE MARKET
7460 Conowingo Ave.
Jessup, MD 20794

The Maryland Wholesale Produce Market opened in 1976. The Market distributes nearly all of the fresh fruits and vegetables sold throughout a five-state Mid-Atlantic area and the District of Columbia. It is a critical link in the daily supply of produce to restaurants, chain grocers, hotels, wholesale food processors, and consumer buying groups.

The Market distributes an enormous volume of produce, including exotic varieties and items which might otherwise be unavailable unless purchased in very large shipments. In its two buildings, virtually any type of produce grown in the United States and around the world is available daily. On-site inspectors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture grade all produce, verifying quality every day.

MARYLAND WHOLESALE SEAFOOD MARKET
7901-A Oceano Ave.
Jessup, MD 20794

The Maryland Wholesale Seafood Market opened in 1984 when the Baltimore Fish Market closed. The Market's ten wholesalers form one of the largest operations on the East coast supplying fresh seafood to the East. Wholesalers use high technology to market fresh seafood to restaurants, grocers, and seafood stores. In addition to local specialties caught in Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic waters, the Market often receives exotic imports through nearby BWI Airport.

ROCK HALL SEAFOOD PROCESSING PLANT

In 1989, the Authority acquired the Rock Hall Seafood Processing Plant in Kent County. This waterside plant is accessible to both Chesapeake Bay watermen and land-based operations which depend upon Bay natural resources, such as finfish and shellfish.

Maryland Independent Agencies

Maryland Manual On-Line