Lactalis Foodservice, the foodservice source for a full line of natural, specialty, country-of-origin cheeses and dairy specialties, is announcing an expansion of the company’s Nampa, Idaho, factory.

The facility, which was approved by the Canyon County Planning and Zoning Commission in mid-March, will add about 250 jobs during the 14-month construction of the new facility and about 50 new, full-time jobs with benefits at the plant upon completion. The expansion also will provide much needed space to expand the company’s production capabilities.

Lactalis Foodservice spends $250 million for products in the local economy annually. In 2009, the Nampa plant expects to purchase more than 1 billion pounds of milk that will be processed into various types of cheeses, predominantly mozzarella and provolone -- about 65%of the milk purchased for the Nampa plant is produced by local farmers within 45 miles of the plant.

"This is a very exciting day for this community and our company," said Jean Claude Bruneau, vice president of manufacturing, as he and a host of elected officials ceremoniously broke ground at the construction site adjacent to the company's operations at Franklin and Star Roads.