By Lance Henderson

The Northwest Economic Council (NWEcon), formerly known as the Bellingham Whatcom Economic Development Council, has expanded its relationship with the Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC) in Whatcom County in an effort to bolster locally grown food businesses.

Jeff Voltz, the newly hired Whatcom County project manager for NABC and former general manager at the Community Food Co-op, will be working out of NWEcon’s offices in downtown Bellingham. Voltz will be managing relationships with local organizations and food retailers seeking locally grown food.

Nancy Jordan, executive director of NWEcon, said she is excited about working with Voltz and NABC.

“We are thrilled to support the work of NABC in this region. The desire for locally grown and sourced products has never been higher in this county and the timing of Jeff’s arrival and NABC’s work in Whatcom County is right on target,” Jordan said in a press release.

NABC’s Executive Director David Bauermeister said that Jordan is the right person with the right experience to be working with his organization.

“As one of the founding board members of the Northwest Agriculture Business Center, Nancy Jordan, now executive director of the Northwest Economic Council, has a unique understanding of this relationship,” Bauermeister said in a statement. “We’ve had a long-standing relationship with economic development councils throughout the state and really work to complement the services they already offer. In this case, working with the Northwest Economic Council was a perfect complement to projects already in motion.”

For more information about Whatcom County’s local economic council, please visit www.nwecon.org or call (360) 676-4255.