The front door to Powered by From the Ground Up, a brand of Our Home, a New Jersey-based snack company. FTGU’s plant at 759 Water St. in Fitchburg will cease operations on December 15, 2026.

by Melanie Gilbert

Snack food company Powered by From the Ground Up, LLC will permanently close the doors at its Water Street location resulting in the layoff of 62 employees.

Chief People Officer Cheslea McCure filed a “Notice of Plant Closing and Resulting Employment Termination,” with the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development last month.

McCue did not respond to a request for comment on the layoffs, but her WARN notice email to EOLWD said “The separations of the affected employed are expected to occur on December 15, 2026.”

FTGU’s tagline is “We Believe in Keepin’ It Real,” and the company is known for making non-GMO, certified vegan and gluten-free plant-based snack food including crackers, pretzels, veggie sticks and potato chips

The company is one of the brands owned by Our Home, a New Jersey-based business, whose other brands include Pop Secret, Popchips, Good Health, Food Should Taste Good, ParmCrisps, RW Garcia and Sonoma Creamery.

WARN Act

The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to submit a WARN notice to EOLWD about a layoff or plant closing.

The notice must be filed at least 60 days prior to the layoff or closing, although employees with fewer than 6 months on the job are not counted in the full-time employee threshold.

The dislocated worker list submitted to the state by FTGU list 27 packers as the majority of the affected positions, followed by potato handlers, utility workers, machine and forklift operators, technicians, assistants, coordinators, food safety and quality managers and supervisors.

The smell of potatoes and oil hung in the morning air during a visit to the company’s plant on Monday. A few semi-trucks were lined up at the back loading docks, but no employees were spotted on the grounds, and no one answered the front door.

Mayor Squailia responds to plant closure

Mayor Samantha Squailia said the city’s economic development team was coordinating with MassHire Rapid Response to help connect affected employees with employment resources and opportunities. And Squailia said her administration was also seeking to engage the company about the future of the Water Street property.

“The closure of the former Wachusett Potato Chip facility is difficult news for Fitchburg, especially for the employees and families whose livelihoods depend on these manufacturing jobs,” Squailia said by email Monday. “This facility has been part of our local economy for generations, and we recognize the impact its closing will have on our community.”

Fitchburg has a long manufacturing history, but in recent years has diversified its development portfolio with investments in housing, infrastructure and other projects.

Fitchburg adapts to changing economic conditions

The Gateway Cities of Fitchburg, Lowell, Chelsea, Holyoke, Lowell, Malden and Peabody were selected to participate in MassDevelopment’s Transformative Development Initiative, a competitive program designed to accelerate economic growth within focused downtown neighborhoods or commercial districts.

TDI will partner with Fitchburg through July 2029 to strengthen the Water Street Corridor.

The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities awarded the city one of the first-ever Commercial Conversion Tax Credit Initiative credits to The Main Street Lofts @ 280. The project will receive almost $1.3 million to convert a historic office building in downtown Fitchburg into rental housing, that will include street-level retail.

And in the same month that FTGU announced its layoffs, Fitchburg development projects were awarded a combined $9.345 million through the Healey Driscoll Administration’s fiscal 2027 Community One Stop for Growth.

The funding brings significant state investment into the city for infrastructure, housing production and the redevelopment of vacant and underutilized properties.

“We have momentum, and I remain optimistic about our economic future,” Squailia said. “But new development doesn’t erase the impact of losing established manufacturing jobs. We want to continue attracting employers that provide stable, well-paying opportunities for our residents.”

According to reporting in the Boston Business Journal, the snack manufacturer is also closing sites in Charlotte, North Carolina and Pennsylvania affecting almost 160 employees.

“Our priority now is supporting these workers, pursuing new opportunities for this industrial property, and ensuring that Fitchburg remains a place where businesses can invest, grow, and create jobs for the next generation,” Squailia said.