Farm to School at the Hudson Valley Food Show
Becky O'Connor, Farm to School Coordinator, WNY & Finger Lakes
Harvest New York
On April 8th the Hudson Valley Food Service Directors Coalition organized a food show for area food service directors. CCE Harvest NY worked with the coalition, partnering to bring in additional vendors that showcased local, NYS products that are available to schools. The event was held at North Rockland High School.
In addition to vendors who have worked with area schools for years, the group brought in some products not previously available in this region of the state. The NY grown, raised, and produced foods featured at the show included Hometown Dairy Distributors; Dagele Produce; Peterson Farms applesauce and sliced apples; Hudson Valley Farm Hub's corn tortillas, vegetables, and flour; Slate Foods ground beef, hot dogs, and meatballs; Issa's Flame Baked Pita Chips; Roc Star Ice Cream's Miss Mila's Chocolate Chip Cookies; Cascun Farms chicken; and Botanaline hot dogs. Food service directors had a long overdue chance to meet vendors in-person, get details about the products, and, most importantly, taste samples of most of these foods.
The Hudson Valley Regional Farm to School Coordinators had a great time at this event and welcomed the chance to be in-person with so many enthusiastic food vendors and food service directors. We are continuing to work with our local distributors to make these products available to schools. If you would like more information about any of the products listed, or simply want to talk more about farm to school in your district, please reach out to us!
Katie Sheehan-Lopez, kms369@cornell.edu Regional Farm to School Coordinator for the Upper Hudson Valley (Dutchess, Ulster, Sullivan, Delaware, Greene, and Columbia Counties)
Kristy Apostolides, kda4@cornell.edu Regional Farm to School Coordinator for the Lower Hudson Valley (Orange, Putnam, Westchester, and Rockland Counties)
Local foods (jpg; 4496KB)
Upcoming Events
2025 Agroforestry Field Day Series -- Agroforestry Implementation and Management
October 23, 2025
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Highland, NY
Interested in incorporating agroforestry practices into your farm? Join us for a series of workshops co-hosted by CCE Ulster, Orange, and Harvest NY with Mastwood Farms, Black Creek Farm and Nursery and Scenic Hudson. On October 23, we'll return to Erik Schellenberg's farm, Black Creek Farm and Nursery, for a Fall tour of their agroforestry plantings. Erik will talk about harvesting and managing plantings while we see some seasonal crops and installations of different ages and types. There will be time for questions and discussion as we wrap up the series. covered.
Soil Health 101 for Community Gardens -- A Bilingual Workshop
October 24, 2025
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Staten Island, NY
Join Urban Agriculture Specialists, Karen Guzman and Yolanda Gonzalez, as they discuss the importance of soil health and testing your soil as you prepare for the incoming growing season. They will go into strategies for best practices when it comes to soil health management and highlight the current soil testing program through NYSDAM and CCE. This workshop will be in both Spanish and English.Biochar 101 for Community Gardens (Upper Manhattan)
October 25, 2025
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Upper Manhattan, NY
Join Karen Guzman and Dr. Rebecca Nelson of Cornell University, Bill Hilgendorf of White Feather Farm, and the NYRP Urban Ag team for a deep dive into biochar as a tool for waste management, carbon storage, and soil health in a community garden context. During this hands-on workshop, participants will have the chance to make biochar using garden waste and learn about best practices when applying it to a garden bed. Workshop attendees will all receive a small amount of biochar to take back to their garden.Space is limited. Pre-registration required.