Taste NY, Farmers' Market Open at Long Island Welcome Center

From Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office:

The grand opening of the brand new Long Island Welcome Center in Dix Hills was held Oct. 20.

The 15,200 square foot state-of-the-art Welcome Center includes a Taste NY Market — promoting some of New York’s best locally-made and produced food and beverage products – a farmers’ market and an interactive I LOVE NEW YORK experience for Long Island visitors to learn about the region’s history and tourism destinations. 

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul marked the occasion with a ribbon cutting at the new facility.
The Welcome Center is located off the Long Island Expressway at Exit 51-52 Eastbound.
The Taste NY Market will showcase a broad selection of fresh made breakfast and lunch items, including soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts using ingredients sourced from Long Island growers.

It will also offer grab-and-go snacks and specialty local items for sale, providing an opportunity for local producers to market their products.

In addition to the Taste NY Market, the Welcome Center will be the home to an outdoor farmers’ market open on Saturdays and Sundays through the season that will provide locally-grown and produced foods to visitors, spotlighting Long Island farms and encouraging agritourism throughout the region.

Long Island Fruit Farm Wins Top State Ag Environmental Award

Wickham’s Fruit Farm, in Cutchogue, Suffolk County, has received New York's top agricultural environmental award – the 2016 Agricultural Environmental Management Award. 

Each year, the award honors the outstanding efforts of a New York state farm to protect and preserve soil and water quality. Wickham’s Fruit Farm is the first fruit farm and the first farm on Long Island to receive this accolade.
Wickham’s Fruit Farm was recognized, along with the Suffolk County Soil and Water Conservation District, during a ceremony at Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls. 

The state Department of Agriculture and Markets, the Empire State Potato Growers, and the American Agriculturist Magazine presented the award to ninth generation farm owner Tom Wickham for the family’s long established history of implementing conservation best management practices that benefit the environment and protect the community.