Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) co-hosted the 2018 Central New York Food Summit on Thursday, April 19, at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The event brought together local growers, manufacturers and distributors as well as members of the community to discuss issues facing the region’s food industry and opportunities for growth.

“As a member of the Assembly’s Agriculture Committee, strengthening our food industry and making it more sustainable for Central New York farmers and producers has been a huge priority of mine,” Stirpe said. “By coming together to share new ideas and discuss challenges, we can ensure that the hardworking folks who contribute to our regional food system can stay in business. The CNY Food Summit connected businesses with the community to tackle challenges and see what our region has to offer.”

The event, which was free and open to the public and co-hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County, featured three panel discussions as well as informational tables for attendees to explore and build connections with local businesses and panelists.

The first panel included the CNY Regional Market Authority, Reeves Farm, The Farm Store at Palladino Farms, Farmers Market Federation of NY, Onondaga County Office for the Aging, Farmshed Harvest and Emmi Farms. The discussion focused on food distribution models and addressed challenges such as distribution obstacles, wholesaler needs and accessibility in rural and urban ‘food deserts,’ as well as solutions like food hubs, scaling production and incentive programs.

The second panel focused on the brewing industry which included Local 315 Brewing Co., Heritage Hill Brewery at Palladino Farms, 1886 Malt House, NYS Brewers Association, and the Northeast Hops Alliance and discussed the brewing industry’s emerging markets, potential opportunities in growing ingredients, processing and sales.

The third panel included NY Farm Viability Institute, Side Hill Farmers, Farm to Fork 101, Nojaim Brothers Supermarket, Syracuse City School District, Cornell Small Farms/NYS SARE. The discussion was dedicated to increasing access to diverse markets, including farm-to-institution, farm-to-school and digital promotion.

The CNY Food Summit brought together regional experts, community members and community partners to provide a networking hour to foster business opportunities and a lunchtime presentation including representatives from the Food Plan CNY.