WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester Regional Food Hub (WRFH) cuts the ribbon to their newest home following nearly a decade of planning. Community leaders celebrating the milestone Friday.

The WRFH left their small space at the Greendale People's Church for a new 6,000 square foot facility inside Worcester's Union Station. They're calling it a transformative milestone for them and the area.

The Worcester Regional Food Hub got its start in 2015, providing a variety of services, as well as space, for start-up and existing food entrepreneurs. The goal is to grow local food supply in the region. In the last decade, the space has helped more than 200 businesses including local food trucks, caterers, and packaged goods producers.

The redevelopment of the space in Union Station was a more than $5 million project which included American Rescue Plan funding along with federal dollars. The facility will include five state-of-the-art kitchen spaces, allowing multiple businesses to operate at once.

The nonprofit is hoping the centralized location provides easier access.

"Actually, our largest customer base is public schools," said Shon Rainford, the nonprofit's director. "We work with about 100 different public schools throughout Massachusetts, and that's supporting our local farmers and it's helping to feed the people that need it the most, which is our young children. So in addition to the public schools, we're going to colleges, hospitals. We work with food pantries, some markets, and yes, there are a few restaurants as well. "

"Union Station has been an economic driver as we've added trains, as we've added public transportation from the bus and private side," said Tim Murray, President and CEO of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce. "We've seen significant private sector investment in concentric circles around union station grow. Shrewsbury Street, the Canal District, our downtown. Thousands of units of new housing, both market rate and affordable. So we know from models across the state where you have public transportation, intermodal transportation, private sector investment follows. And Worcester now is a national example of that."

The nonprofit says they're now serving more than a quarter-million students throughout Massachusetts. Operations at union station are expected to start in June.