Born from Mary Ann and John Valley’s family-kitchen catering service more than 50 years ago, Valley Food Systems is a second-generation, family-run Youngstown manufacturer specializing in retort foods and shelf-stable meals. The company is unusual among co-packers for deliberately serving smaller brands producing three to five million pouches or fewer, while also supporting the National Guard with military meal kits and retort entrées—a role it has held for 25 years. Valley Foods operates under Ohio community values and holds SQF Level 2 and organic certifications.
SQF Level 2
USDA Inspected
FDA Inspected
Organic Certification
USDAINSPECTION
Quality certification
FSISINSPECTION
Quality certification
FDA
Quality certification
Cassie's Country CupboardCassie Menchhofer started Cassie’s Country Cupboard in 2011, and today she runs the business with her husband, Curt, from their licensed facility on a rural Ohio homestead. The couple hand-pack meal starters for families seeking a healthier shortcut to homemade cooking, with products now sold through retailers and gift baskets across the United States. Their family test is simple: if Cassie would not serve a recipe at home, it does not go in the cupboard.CELINA, OH
Mother Earth ProductsMother Earth Products, the Young family’s U.S.-based food packaging and distribution business, makes shelf-stable dehydrated and freeze-dried foods along with its distinctive powdered instant hummus. The company’s foods are designed to preserve taste and nutrition while reducing waste and making meals practical at home, on the trail, or in emergency and institutional settings. Its products carry the Virginia’s Finest designation, and its government-services operation is certified as a small-business SBA WOSB.PHILADELPHIA, PA
Big Dipper Food Company, IncFounded in 2005 from a family peanut-brittle recipe, Youngstown’s Big Dipper Food Company makes small-batch, hand-stirred brittle and brittle popcorn products. The family-owned company also produces partner brands through co-manufacturing, co-packing and wholesale services, using a facility certified under Safe Quality Foods Institute guidelines. Its Cayten’s brand earned the 2023 Sweets & Snacks Expo award for Most Innovative New Product.WARREN, OH
Baxters North America, IncBaxters North America develops and contract-manufactures convenient, nutritious foods for store brands, specialized nutrition programs, and military and humanitarian use. The company combines culinary and nutritional expertise with end-to-end production and commercialization, including shelf-stable, ready-to-eat, and frozen formats. Family-owned for more than 150 years, Baxters traces its heritage to 1868 and now operates East and West Coast facilities.BLUE ASH, OH