As textile plants have continued to close across North Carolina, the state is seeing a number of food producers step in and open or expand facilities in those areas of the state.

The latest to do so is Reser's Fine Foods, which announced this week it is expanding its presence in Halifax County and adding 500 new jobs over five years.

One of the byproducts of the decline in textile manufacturing in the state is that a number of counties now find themselves with an abundance of water and sewer capacity not being used.

If there's one thing textile manufacturers and food processing plants have in common it's that they both require a lot of water and sewer capacity to operate their businesses.

Ed Reser, CEO of Reser's Fine Foods, said this week that among the reasons his company picked Halifax in 2000 was its abundance of water and sewer capacity.

In Randolph County, where cereal-maker Malt-O-Meal has opened a plant, economic development officials are using their water and sewer capacity as a major selling point in trying to land food processing companies.

Reser’s Fine Foods, an Oregon company that makes prepared foods and salads, announced today it will expand its plant in Halifax County and add 500 jobs over the next five years.

Riser’s said it will invest $15 million in 2010 as it expands its plant in the Halifax Industrial Center. The company received a $1 million grant from the One North Carolina fund.

Reser’s, headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, makes prepared salads, dips, side dishes, Mexican foods and other products under a variety of brand names. The company has facilities nationwide.

“We are convinced North Carolina is the best strategic location, and we are excited to expand there. We plan to build a facility that the people of Halifax County and our employees are proud of, and one that will continue to produce great products,” Reser’s CEO Al Reser said in a release.