Helping out: Southern University has been chosen as one of six Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Delta Region to help grow entrepreneurship among its students via the HBCU Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative through the Delta Regional Authority. According to a news release, the initiative will help the schools expand programming and support services for students to encourage entrepreneurship. The six schools will receive up to $24,000 in support services for a two-day workshop to teach entrepreneurial skills. Grambling State University was also chosen.
Sold!: Ponchatoula-based Pon Food Corporation has been acquired by Good Source Solutions, a national specialty foodservice distributor headquartered in Carlsbad, California. According to a news release, the move strengthens Good Source Solutions’ network in the southeastern U.S., while Pon Foods now has access to Tools for Schools branded items. Financial details were not disclosed. Troy Berner Jr. will remain president of Pon Food. “This union with Good Source will allow us to strengthen our position in the marketplace,” he says in a statement. Pon Food began in 1956 as a frozen food distributor, but has since grown into one of the largest family owned broadline distributors in Louisiana. See the full release.
Good sign: Construction of new homes posted a solid increase in June, led by a surge of building in the Northeast and the West, The Associated Press reports. The Commerce Department says housing starts rose 4.8% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.19 million, up from a revised 1.14 million in May. The June reading was the highest level since February, but was down from 1.21 million a year earlier. During the housing boom of the mid-2000s, housing starts sometimes ranged above a 1.7 million annual rate. In the bust that followed, they fell below 600,000. Over the past year, they have mostly stayed between 1.1 million and 1.2 million. The Associated Press has the full story.
