New Farm Store Opening in Onondaga County

Dan Palladino of Palladino Farms in Pompey is opening a new farm store at 2 p.m. Friday Jan. 13 (today).

Palladino said "we will have product samples and tastings by Trinity Valley Dairy, Clean Slate balsamic vinegars and honey, breads by Alambria Springs farm and maple products from Dutch Hill maple."

Palladino said the primary reason for starting the store is he believes there is a "huge unmet need for a place selling local foods in our town and area. In addition, the town of Pompey passed a very farm friendly law in 2015 called the "farm business overlay", which allows qualified farmers to have commercial enterprises on their farm if they meet certain criteria."

One of the main criteria is a certain percentage of foods sold must be actually grown in Pompey.

"Our goal is to bring the connection between consumer and farmer even closer," Palladino said. "The store will give other small farms that only produce one or a few items an outlet to sell their products where they otherwise could not afford to."

Palladino also believes food should be affordable and some stores and retail sites sell healthy local foods at higher prices.

"While this is unavoidable with some premium and organic products, I plan to price as competitively as possible so that all people can enjoy shopping for local products at our farm store and not have to go to a large retailer or buy from unknown sources," he said.
 
Palladino said his goal is to carry as many made in Onondaga County products as possible, as well as some regionally produced products (from other counties and a few items from Pennsylvania) until he can find a local source of those products.

Taste NY Returns to Restaurant Show

From Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office:

Taste NY will return to the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York — one of the largest restaurant and food service shows in the country — to promote New York food and beverage producers from across the state.  

Beginning Sunday, March 6 and ending Tuesday, March 8, the event will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, and will feature about 550 vendors from around the world, including 200 from New York state.  

The Restaurant Show provides a unique opportunity for small New York food companies to directly connect with buyers and showcase their products to the global marketplace. 

Taste NY Thanksgiving Photo Contest Underway

A special Taste NY Thanksgiving photo contest to promote New York’s food and beverage producers and the agricultural industry is on now through Dec. 1.

The contest encourages New Yorkers to submit photos of their favorite Thanksgiving dish, beverage or entire holiday meal made with New York products and ingredients to the website at http://offerpop.com/hashtag/gallery/17504/submit or post to Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TasteNYThanks. 

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Agriculture and Markets Commissioner Richard Ball, New York State Chief Digital Officer and Deputy Secretary for Technology Rachel Haot, and distinguished culinary experts from the New York Wine and Culinary Center and The Culinary Institute of America will judge the entries and select five winners.

 

The contest started Nov. 20 and runs through midnight Dec.1. All entries will be judged on the overall appeal of the finished product, quality of the image, and representation of the New York-produced or sourced ingredient or food or beverage.  

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets will announce the winners of the contest Dec.9 on the Taste NY website and social media channels, where the winners’ photographs and names will be displayed. 

The five entries that receive the highest overall scores will also win Taste NY gift baskets.