Ten years of Taste NY. Here's how Finger Lakes farmers and producers are helped

GENEVA, NY – Here’s a hole-in-one example of how the Taste NY program is supposed to work.

An executive chef visited the Muranda Cheese Co. tasting room on the recommendation of the folks in Geneva at the Finger Lakes Welcome Center, which houses the Taste NY market.

Apparently, the experience was more than up to par, as the visit led to a stroke of good fortune for the cheese makers.

Muranda bleu cheese will be featured on charcuterie boards at an upcoming PGA golf event in Rochester, according to Tom Murray, who founded the Waterloo dairy farm that led to the development of the cheese company.

“We’re very excited about that,” Murray said. “It’s another way how partnerships and relationships can get you going.”

The Welcome Center, which opened in May 2018, served as the kick-off point of the 10th anniversary of Taste NY, the state’s program geared toward making sure everyone knows the benefits of eating and drinking local and supporting local farmers and producers.

The program was debuted at the State Fair in 2013 with retail stores and other venues throughout the state following suit.

Big business in NY products

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball, who visited the center in February, said Taste NY and the help of welcome centers such as this one on the shore of Seneca Lake have meant more than $100 million worth of business for farmers and small producers.

The idea is to connect consumers – whether local or visitors from out of town, state or even country -- and growers and budding entrepreneurs.

“What a great example and opportunity to connect dots,” Ball said.

Here are more numbers to chew on.

The Welcome Center has showcased over 1,900 New York products, with 65% of those coming from the Finger Lakes region. The center has supported over 280 New York vendors, and, according to Jennifer Kime, the center’s market manager, shelled out just shy of $700,000 in sales back to those vendors.

Tourism also plays a key role in the process of linking visitors and producers -- and return visits, said Valerie Knoblauch, president and CEO of the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection.

Visitors are introduced to a multitude of diversity of tastes and the next step after that is seeking out and finding the people responsible for those tastes.

“It becomes a very personal experience,” Knoblauch said. “What we have here is an economic driver to get people to extend their stay and make return visits. Taste NY is a win, win, win for our local economy, our residents and our communities and for supporting the agricultural folks we work with as well.”

They got craft beer, they got Finger Lakes wine, they got food

But food and drink – and their producers – are what the Taste NY program is really about.

The grape chocolate bar from the Keuka Candy Emporium in Penn Yan. The wine from Fulkerson Winery in Dundee. The Royal Kilt Inspector Scotch Ale from War Horse Brewing Co. in Geneva. The cupcakes from New York Kitchen in Canandaigua. The pineapple habanero barbecue sauce from 4J’s NVR in Geneva. Chocolate Cherry Bon Bon moonshine from Smokin’ Tails Distillery in Phelps.

Arbor Hill Winery in Naples and Brewery Ardennes in Geneva, and just to show the diversity of products, maple syrup from Syrup A’ LaRue -- all of these are just a sampling of businesses showcased.

Taste NY as a growth industry

Taste NY has helped Morgan Hoven establish partnerships with other farms and businesses in the Finger Lakes and beyond as well as help bring his syrups, blueberries and Christmas trees to more people.

The farm in Clifton Springs is off the beaten path, but the program and Welcome Center help people who are seeking out hideaway farms and the experienced-based activities they offer, Hoven said.

“It helps us get out in front of more people, which is great,” Hoven said. "It’s really helped get us out in front of bigger populations and other demographics. It’s really helped us grow as well.”

Walking through the center, Ball remarked on the amazing bounty and diversity in the Finger Lakes. After lunch, Ball said he most likely will bring a souvenir home to Schoharie, near Albany.

“I’m sure there’s a bottle of wine with my name on it,” Ball said.

This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Taste NY: Here's what it's meant to Finger Lakes farmers, producers