NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Expo connects food and farm firms with potential buyers
ALBANY, N.Y. >> Judith Provo’s hot dog meat sauce got such rave reviews from family and friends that she decided to start marketing it. That was 10 years ago. Now her small business, called Pa’s Pistols, features several other products as well such as dips, wing sauce and barbecue rub, and she also runs Pearly J’s Place for Hotdogs, a popular eatery named for her late husband, at 134 Saratoga Ave. in South Glens Falls.
“I used to give my sauce out for Christmas gifts,” Provo said. “Everybody kept saying you ought to sell it, so one day I told my husband, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’ I actually took a 12-week entrepreneurship course. I have a commercial kitchen at my lit-
tle restaurant. If I need a lot of it I go to Brooks House of Barbecue in Oneonta.”
On Tuesday, Provo was among the dozens of business owners on hand for the latest in a series of statewide Food and Farms Business Expos at The Desmond Hotel in Albany.
The event gave firms a chance to showcase their products to buyers such as restaurants, retail stores and distributors who would hopefully purchase them, giving a significant boost to upstate New York’s agriculture industry.
More than 70 vendors attended, offering all kinds of goods ranging from syrup, honey and jams, to chocolate-covered fruit, lavender and pasture-raised eggs, in addition to several wineries, distilleries and craft beverage makers.
Connie Capasso, of Porter Corners, owns Grandma Apple’s Cheesecakes LLC, which sells such desserts in a variety of flavors and sizes.
“I’m just doing networking,” she said. “There’s a lot of retailers and restaurants represented here. I did get some contact information. We’ll see what happens.”
Jan King, co-owner of Northumberland-based King Brothers Dairy, said, “As a local food producer we’re always looking for avenues to help people learn about our products. An event such as this where there’s local vendors and local chefs, people interested in buying direct from the farm – these events are priceless. A lot of people don’t find you unless you’re someplace like this. It’s just a good avenue to display your product, let people taste it and see what they can do with it.”
The Expo was organized by the Capital Region and Adirondack Regional chambers of commerce, and Warren and Albany counties’ Cornell Cooperative Extension offices in cooperation with the state Department of Agriculture and Markets’ Taste NY program.
Other Expos have been held or are planned in other parts of the state such as the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley and Long Island.
State agriculture Department Deputy Commissioner Kevin King said such efforts have spurred considerable growth in the food and tourism industries, which are sometimes marketed together with things such as wine and craft beverage trails.
“Today we have over 70 locations showcasing New York food and beverage products,” he said.
Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, whose 109th District includes urban, suburban and rural areas, said, “Good food is good health and good business.”
The Troy Farmer’s Market has helped revitalize that city, and a farmer’s market in Bethlehem has spawned several successful small businesses, she said.
“Please keep doing what you’re doing,” she told vendors.
Recent farm-to-school initiatives have also given agriculture-related businesses a considerable boost.
“We came here to meet the farmers and dairies and see what our school can possibly bring in to feed kids with,” said Darryl Whited, Watervliet Central Schools food service director. “This is a good opportunity to meet local farmers and see what kind of ties we can make with them in order to purchase their items and let kids try new and different things in the future.
“Most of our lettuce comes from local sources and all year round we get apples from local orchards,” he said. “We don’t buy local meat or dairy, but we’re going to take a look and see if there’s anything we can do with those items. When we place orders, we look to see if it’s New York-grown. We’ll help out the community before we go outside.”
Kirsten DeMento, of Saratoga Springs, is Watervliet Central Schools’ director of educational programs.
“We’re hoping to help agriculture,” she said. “We’re hoping that they help us. I’m looking for products that may fit special needs. For example, we just saw some lactose-free cheese. We have more and more students with that kind of need. We’re also looking to see what kind of local yogurts might be here. We’re looking for items that meet special dietary needs.”