Alabo Street Wharf Overview
For over 25 years, Sunrise Foods has sourced, processed, and marketed specialty agri-food ingredients for food and animal feed. Founded by an organic farming family, the company remains committed to its founders' mission of improving access to nutritious, sustainably produced organic and non-GMO products. Today, Sunrise Foods operates organic grain facilities across North America and Europe, ensuring reliable supply chains and best-in-class service for customers, farmers, and partners—while prioritizing safety, responsibility, and strong community relationships.
As a tenant of the Port of New Orleans, Sunrise Foods will operate an FDA-registered and USDA organic transloading facility at the Alabo Street Wharf—the first dedicated organic port facility in the United States.
The Alabo Street Wharf facility will be the first U.S. port operation dedicated to handling organic products. By adhering to rigorous organic-certified handling practices, Sunrise Foods will protect the integrity of organic transloading, expand nationwide access to organic grains, and meet the growing demand for sustainably sourced agricultural products.
A transloading facility is a specialized logistics hub that transfers grain directly from one mode of transportation to another, such as from vessels to covered rail cars. These facilities are designed for short-term handling, with minimal storage time typically ranging from a few days to about four weeks. In contrast, a grain terminal is built for long-term storage, often holding grain for several months to years. Terminals typically have large silos or elevators and may include processing equipment for cleaning, drying, and blending. Because transloading facilities store grain for shorter periods with minimal processing, they generally generate less dust, have lower emissions, and pose reduced pest risks compared to traditional grain terminals.
The product will vary based on inventory, availability, and market demand, but will primarily include organic soybeans, soybean meal, sunflower meal, peas, and wheat.
There are three functional areas and processes utilized for the operation of our organic transloading facility:
1. Unloading: Estimated 5-day process where product is removed from the vessel and discharged to the warehouse. Approximately one vessel a month.
2. Storage: Grain is stored indoors in designated bays for an average of 23 days.
3. Loading/Reclaiming: Up to 10 covered rail cars are loaded daily, with the timing of the trains running determined by Norfolk Southern rail line.
Sunrise Foods has incorporated a multi-layered dust control system throughout its transloading operations to minimize air quality impacts and protect the surrounding community. From vessel unloading to loading into covered railcars, dust control measures are applied to contain, collect, and minimize dust emissions.
Eco-Hoppers for Vessel Unloading:
Eco-hoppers—high-efficiency dust collection systems that capture airborne particles at the source—are positioned alongside vessels and powered to ensure continuous dust control during the unloading process.
Controlled Product Transfer from Vessel to Eco-Hopper:
Vessel cranes transfer grain into eco-hoppers, where dust is immediately captured before the product moves downstream.
Minimized Dust Dispersion During Transfer to Transport Vehicles:
Eco-hoppers use controlled discharge spouts to keep small particles embedded in the product stream, limiting dust generation when transferring grain into transport vehicles.
Transport to Warehouse & Unloading:
Unloading occurs inside an enclosed warehouse, helping to prevent wind dispersion and contain dust.
Dust-Controlled Loading of Grain into Covered Rail Cars:
Grain is transferred from transport vehicles into an enclosed bulk weigher system, which precisely delivers product into covered rail cars while containing dust.
Sealed & Secured Rail Cars for Transit:
Once loaded, railcar hatches are immediately closed and secured before departure to prevent dust escape during transit.
Yes, we look forward to sharing additional media in the coming weeks that highlights the operational process and dust mitigation measures.
At the request of Sunrise Foods, Ramboll—a leading engineering and environmental consulting firm—conducted air quality assessments, including dispersion modeling for particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) emissions for the organic transloading facility at the Port of New Orleans’ Alabo Street Wharf. The results were compared to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
To evaluate potential emissions from the facility, three air quality models were conducted:
These assessments ensure that emissions remain within strict public health standards while accounting for cumulative air quality impacts from all sources in the area.
The air quality assessment conducted by Ramboll—a leading engineering and environmental consulting firm—determined that the Alabo Street facility’s contribution to particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in the surrounding neighborhood is minimal, and the area's cumulative air quality will remain within public health standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The facility's contributions to air quality were were combined with the historical data from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s Chalmette air quality monitoring station, the closest monitoring site to the Alabo Street Wharf. When evaluated cumulatively, the air disbursement models show PM2.5 and PM10 emissions are below the EPA health-based limits throughout the surrounding neighborhood.
Air quality considerations related to the project center on particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), which often derive from different emissions sources and have different chemical compositions. Emissions from combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel or wood produce much of the PM2.5 pollution found in outdoor air, as well as a significant proportion of PM10. PM10 also includes dust from construction sites, landfills and agriculture, wildfires and brush/waste burning, industrial sources, wind-blown dust from open lands, pollen and fragments of bacteria.
Sunrise Foods will establish air quality monitoring stations at the Alabo Street Wharf. These stations will provide ongoing data to ensure the effectiveness of our dust mitigation measures in minimizing environmental impact on the surrounding community.
Sunrise Foods is committed to responsible pest management at the Alabo Street facility. We have partnered with Dial ONE Franklynn Pest Control Co., Inc., a respected, family-owned local business founded by a certified entomologist with over 55 years of rodent control expertise. Franklynn Pest Control is implementing a comprehensive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan at Sunrise Foods’ New Orleans organic transloading facility. Key pest control measures include:
A detailed IPM plan will be finalized and shared with the community before the start of operations.
As an organic facility, substances used for pest management are limited to those products found on the USDA’s National List of Allowable Substances and are generally less toxic to human health and the environment while remaining effective at controlling targeted pests.
Yes. The Sunrise Foods organic transloading facility will generate both permanent and temporary employment opportunities, supporting the local workforce during construction and ongoing operations.
The Sunrise Foods facility will generate 51 permanent jobs and 150 construction jobs during the one-year construction phase.
Since securing the lease, Sunrise Foods has focused on ensuring a safe and efficient launch of operations at the Alabo Street Wharf. In preparation for operations, we have:
Throughout this process, we have remained responsive to community emails about the project.
Construction updates at the Alabo Wharf are expected to begin in April, with equipment delivery in May and operations starting mid-2025
For more information on The Port of New Orleans' planned cargo operations at the facility, please visit PortNOLA.com or reach out to community.engagement@portnola.com.
As part of the construction process, the Alabo warehouse will undergo significant improvements, including electrical system upgrades to meet the requirements for a grain facility, sealing the building envelope to reduce rodent intrusion, and repairing concrete and doors. Additionally, a covered loadout structure and a fully enclosed truck dump building will be installed, both specifically designed to minimize dust impact on the surrounding community.
Sunrise Foods is committed to designing and constructing a facility that meets all operational requirements while prioritizing safety and environmental responsibility. To achieve this, contractor selection is being carefully considered. The contractors under evaluation represent multiple regions, with many based in the New Orleans area.
Port NOLA and Sunrise Foods are working with both state and local agencies, with regulatory oversight including:
Sunrise Foods is allotted up to 10 covered rail cars per day. The timing of rail operations is determined by Norfolk Southern but is expected to be Monday-Friday, during daylight hours. For inquiries regarding rail schedules and operations beyond Sunrise Foods, please contact Norfolk Southern at NSGovernmentRelations@nscorp.com.
Normal operating hours will be a 40-hour work week with intermittent periods of extended weekday and weekend operation.
Regulatory compliance is central to our operations. As an organic agri-food company, our facilities undergo routine audits to meet strict organic and food safety certification standards. Our dedicated team of 20+ compliance professionals works closely with on-the-ground operations teams to uphold these standards. By investing in certified organic facilities, we help meet the growing demand for organic grains while maintaining the integrity and traceability required in the organic supply chain.
To ensure a safe work environment for our employees, we follow applicable OSHA standards to all work interfaces within the facility.
Sunrise Foods is dedicated to working with an advisory committee consisting of community and government stakeholders to support the Lower Ninth Ward and Holy Cross neighborhoods through meaningful initiatives that reflect local priorities. In addition to this commitment, we will continue to keep the community informed with project and operational updates as they develop. We look forward to being a valued corporate citizen within the Greater New Orleans region. To provide input please reach out to sunrisenola@sunrisefoods.com.
The organic transloading facility is Sunrise Foods’ sole confirmed project at the Port of New Orleans’ Alabo Street Wharf. While potential future phases are under consideration, there are no definitive plans for other operations at this time.
15-year primary lease term with two 5-year extension options.
Michael Corbett
EVP, Strategy & Infrastructure
Sunrise Foods International
sunrisenola@sunrisefoods.com
