Stewart's Shops Join New York State Grown & Certified Program

From New York State:

 

The New York State Grown & Certified program is expanding to include the New York dairy industry. 

The state is partnering with Stewart’s Shops to launch the promotional program that distinguishes agricultural products that are local and made by producers who meet safe food handling best practices and demonstrate environmental stewardship. 

Beginning next month, consumers will be able to find the NYS Certified label on Stewart’s dairy products in more than 300 stores across the state. Stewart’s egg supplier, Thomas Poultry Farm from Schuylerville, is also participating in the program.

"The Grown & Certified program connects consumers with high-quality, farm-fresh New York products, while supporting our hard-working farms, businesses and local economies across the state," said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

"By partnering with Stewart’s Shops, we will expand this program to promote and provide a boost to some of New York’s best producers and support the dairy industry's continued growth and success," Cuomo said.

Starting in July, Stewart’s will launch new packaging for their half-gallon milk containers, which will prominently feature the New York State Certified label and a description of the program. 

Signage in-store and at the gas pump, as well as a promotional video, are already in stores, helping to educate consumers about the Certified program and what it means to them.  Many varieties of Stewart's milk, half and half, heavy cream, and ice cream will all carry the Certified seal.

Stewart’s Shops, a longstanding and well-respected dairy processor, adheres to the New York State Grown & Certified food safety and environmental management plan requirements.  

The company has stores in the Capital Region, North Country, Hudson Valley and Central New York regions. They proudly source all of their milk from local farms in Saratoga, Rensselaer and Washington counties.

In addition to Stewart’s dairy products, its eggs will feature the NYS Grown & Certified seal, highlighting Thomas Poultry Farm. The farm adheres to environmentally responsible practices and exceeds federal egg safety standards.

July 19 is National Ice Cream Day

Sunday, July 19 is National Ice Cream Day.

In the event you are brain dead and can't think of a way to celebrate (have some ice cream!!), here are some ways area ice cream shops are noting the day:

Carvel: Buy one get one free for ice cream cones

Dippin' Dots: Free sample of newest flavor, Redberry Sherbet

Friendly's: Today and Sunday, $1.99 buy one and get one free of a single scoop of ice cream in a dish or a cone

Baskin Robbins: Giving away an ice cream cake. Go to @baskinrobbins on Twitter and be the first person to @reply with the correct answer to the cake trivia.

Stewart's Shops: Has specials on its floats and ice cream sodas.

Ice Cream Trivia for Ice Cream Month

Here's some handy ice cream trivia for you:


June was National Dairy Month, so July must be Ice Cream Month.
 
That’s right, a monthlong celebration of one of dairy’s greatest gifts takes place in July.
 
Many people celebrate the summer by downing cones, sundaes, milkshakes and other creamy, cold delights, but it was President Ronald Reagan in 1984 who officially named July as National Ice Cream Month.
 
And the third Sunday of July is National Ice Cream Day. So be sure to have some on July 19.
Ice cream is big business in New York state, with about 140 manufacturers. Some are large — Perry’s, Byrne — while others are small businesses that make their own ice cream and sell it at their shop.
 
There are no breakdowns for how much money New York companies pump into the economy, but nationally, sales of ice cream and frozen desserts rose 2.1 percent to $5.4 billion in the 52 weeks ending on Aug. 10, 2014, according to Information Resources Inc., Chicago. And ice cream production reached 894 million gallons in 2012 and 897 million in 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 
To qualify as ice cream, the product has to follow federal law.
 
According to regulations, ice cream must contain at least 10 percent milk fat and at least 20 percent total milk solids. The finished ice cream must weigh a minimum of 4.5 pounds per gallon.
 
There are well-defined labeling requirements for the types of flavors used — natural and/or artificial — and when egg yolks are present in the finished product, it can be called custard or “French” if the content of yolks is at least 1.4 percent.
 
Ice cream also may be labeled as reduced fat (25 percent less than the standard ice cream), light (50 percent less fat than standard), low fat (less than 3 grams of fat per serving), or non fat (less than 0.5 grams per serving).
 
Some other facts about ice cream:
 
** About 9 percent of all milk produced in the United States goes to manufacture ice cream. (Source: International Dairy Foods Association).
 
** Americans’ favorite flavor is vanilla, followed by chocolate, strawberry and chocolate chip. (Source: International Dairy Foods Association).
 
** The average American eats 4.8 gallons of ice cream and frozen treats a year (Source: www.smallbusiness.com).
 
** The largest manufacturer of ice cream and frozen desserts in New York state is Fieldbrook Foods in Dunkirk, Chautauqua County (the company also has a plant in Lakewood, N.J.). Fieldbrook makes more than 120 million dozen frozen novelties and 25 million gallons of ice cream annually; most of its ice cream products are private label. (Source: Northeast Dairy Foods Association and Fieldbrook website).
 
** Other large manufacturers in New York include Perry’s in Akron (Erie County), Byrne Dairy in Syracuse (Onondaga), Stewart’s in Saratoga Springs (Saratoga), and Mercer’s in Boonville (Oneida).
 
** Chocolate syrup is the most popular ice cream topping. (Source: Perry’s website). 
 
** The phrase “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” actually was the name of a song written by Howard Johnson in the late 1920s. (Source: www.answers.yahoo.com).
 
** There are three versions of the story about who invented the ice cream sundae:
 
— New Yorkers are partial to the story that the sundae was created in Ithaca by Chester Platt, who owned Platt & Colt’s drugstore in 1893. The story goes that Platt prepared a dish of vanilla ice cream for the Rev. John Scott on a Sunday. Platt spiced up the ice cream with cherry syrup and a candied cherry, and Rev. Scott named the dish after the day.
 
— Evanston, Ill. also lays claim to the treat. Its story goes that in Evanston and other Midwestern areas, the selling of soda water was prohibited on Sunday. So they made the sodas without soda, leaving just ice cream and syrup. They called it a sundae.
 
— In Two Rivers, Wis., soda fountain owner Ed Berners had a customer named George Hallauer, who asked for a dish of ice cream topped with the syrup used for sodas. Berner liked the dish and added it to his regular menu for a nickel. But then a competitor, George Giffy, decided to serve the same item at his shop, albeit at a higher price. He decided to serve the ice cream only on Sunday, and soon it became known as the “Ice Cream Sunday.”

Stewart's Shops Drops Price of Milk This Month

Here's some good news for consumers from Stewart's Shops:

Stewart's Shops is lowering the price of milk at its stores 30 cents a gallon and 16 cents a half gallon as of Monday, Jan. 5. 


Stewart's officials said a number of global and economic factors are leading to the price drop, but it is most significantly influenced by supply and demand. After a record year for milk supply to meet growing international demand, the tides have turned and global demand, including the need for U.S. exports, is lessening. 

"The result is that the cost of milk will be lowered for the consumer," said Stewart's officials in a news release.

Stewart’s Shops picks up fresh milk daily from more than 30 dairy farms in Saratoga, Rensselaer and Washington counties. That milk is processed at its dairy in Greenfield, and is also used to make other Stewart’s quality products such as ice cream, half and half and eggnog.

Stewart's Shops are located primarily in eastern and northern New York. There is one in Liverpool in Onondaga County, two in Oswego County (Oswego and Minetto), a few in the Mohawk Valley and some in the Catskills region.

Stewart's coming to Onondaga County

Stewart's Shops, a Saratoga-based company that sells its own milk, ice cream and other dairy products, is coming to Onondaga County.

The company is hiring how for a store to open at the corner of Buckley Road and Morgan Road in Liverpool this fall. 

Stewart's is well known in the North Country and eastern New York. The closest shops to Syracuse are Minetto and Oswego in Oswego County and Camden, Boonville, north of Rome, Clinton, Waterville and Barneveld in Oneida County and Adams in Jefferson County.

Stewart's works closely with 30 local dairy farms for its milk for its products.