Excerpts from the report: This study was begun in the fall of 1959 at the request of a committee appointed by the Governor of Rhode Island, and in cooperation with the Rhode Island Department of Agriculture and Conservation, the Providence City Plan Commission, and the Rhode Island Development Council. These agencies requested assistance from the U. S. Department of Agriculture to plan new and improved wholesale food handling facilities to replace existing facilities which, it was expected, might he displaced by new highways and by urban renewal. This study of facilities for handling the major food commodities at wholesale in Providence is part of a broad program of research to aid in reducing costs of marketing farm products. It had the following objectives: 1. To analyze the existing wholesale food marketing situation in Providence and Rhode Island and to ascertain the adequacy of the facilities in the light of present and future needs. 2. To determine those facilities that would best suit present and future needs. 3. To estimate--should facility improvements be recommended--costs of facility improvements or construction, possible operating expenses, and the self-liquidating potential. 4. To estimate probable cost reductions and benefits from any suggested improvements.