It takes a lot more than ground pork and chicken to make a Lamberti sausage.
There are the spices, which are hand-mixed, plus plastic wrap and styrofoam for packaging. You need gloves and other equipment for workers. Then there’s the refrigerated truck needed to transport the fresh Italian links to stores and restaurants.
When one of Lamberti’s trucks broke down recently, it was impossible to rent a replacement due to high demand and supply chain issues, said Jay Pallotti, president of the company and grandson of the founder.
“The rental companies are out,” Pallotti said. “So, you know, I sort of sit back and I say, ‘Okay, I did everything I needed to do and I still can’t get it done.’”
Pallotti ended up finding a truck, but the mounting challenges facing small and midsize businesses like Lamberti Sausage in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic were on the minds of lawmakers Monday. A gaggle of officials and industry representatives gathered at Brazi’s Italian Restaurant in New Haven to promise more funding.
The federal government can and will do more to help with pandemic impacts, supply chain and regulatory issues, said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
“There are a lot of moving parts… you don’t realize it’s a domino effect,” DeLauro said of the challenges facing Lamberti’s and other small manufacturers. “We’re not thinking in those terms, these folks are coping with it every single day.”
DeLauro touted two federal efforts addressing the needs of smaller businesses. One is the $4 billion aid package for the food system unlocked under the American Rescue Plan. The other would provide aid for manufacturing under the America COMPETES Act, which has been passed by both houses and is undergoing final revisions before going to the president’s desk.
With the stimulus funds, the USDA will soon unlock grants and loans for businesses in food production, food processing and food distribution, DeLauro said.
“We’re going to strengthen the food infrastructure to transform our food systems… so that we are not dependent on one large producer or just one outlet for the source of our products,” DeLauro said.
When the $52 million COMPETES act is signed, a first priority will be bolstering semiconductor manufacturing but also key elements of the food industry, DeLauro said. “This is about American manufacturing, and looking at jobs that cannot be outsourced,” she said.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker tied the current war in Ukraine to the risks inherent in a globalized economy.
“We are so reliant on other countries for our economic well-being,” Elicker said. “And in such an unstable world today that we are seeing, we are not as able to make decisions to protect our values because they sometimes feel like they conflict with our economic vitality.”
Bolstering smaller companies like those at the food terminal will help build resilience in the economy, Elicker added.
“If we rely on large global conglomerates, we are less flexible, less adept and agile to adapt to the ever-changing world today,” Elicker said. “That investment is vital to New Haven.”
Lamberti has been making their sausages since 1946 in and around New Haven’s Food Terminal, but things have gotten a lot more complicated lately due to supply chain and staffing issues, Pallotti said. Demand has gone up at grocery stores because more people are cooking at home, but also because at times local products were the only ones available.
“Focusing on the littler guys is definitely refreshing to hear because there were a lot of times where you sort of only saw the little names on the shelves,” Pallotti said. “It’s refreshing to see that the money is going to the right places.”
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
