Citing ongoing nationwide healthcare reform efforts, United Helpers are postponing their project to bring a regional slaughterhouse to St. Lawrence County.

In 2012, United Helpers bought and renovated the current Sparx headquarters located at 91 Main St. in Canton. A formerly empty building on Main Street, Sparx now houses over 30 employees and is driving revenue back into the local economy, according to a statement from United Helpers.

One of the opportunities Sparx investigated is a food HUB and meat-processing center. The idea being that St. Lawrence County produces the raw material, but does not reap the jobs of processing.

Significant time and resources were devoted to researching the hub and we have concluded that the idea does present a ‘transformational’ opportunity for our community’s economy,” United Helpers said in a news release. “However, health care reform, and the many initiatives that are connected with health care reform, call for an ‘All Hands-On Deck’ effort and require United Helpers to focus on our long-term health care strategy. While disappointing for many reasons, continued exploration into the food hub and processing center have been postponed while we address health care reform.”