Onondaga County

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Onondaga County Agriculture Council kicked off the 11th year of the “Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown.” Campaign today at the CNY Regional Market during their popular Thursday farmer’s market. The campaign objective is to encourage the public to choose food and products grown in Onondaga
County by over 570 farm families. 10 host farms were also announced for the 9th annual Harvey Skeele ON Farm Fest which will take place September 20th.

The Agriculture Council chose to launch the Onondaga Grown campaign at the CNY Regional Market to highlight the fact that shoppers can access freshly harvested food from dozens of local farms – all in one convenient location. At the market, shoppers have the unique opportunity to directly connect with the people who grow their food, gather recipe and prep tips and support farmers in their community. In addition, the CNY Regional Market is undergoing a transformative revitalization to further enhance the connection between farmers and the community by increasing the sale of locally grown and produced goods while improving the visitor experience.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said, “Buying local not only means fresher, tastier, more
nutritious food for our families, but it also helps build stronger connections with our local family farms. Those relationships between farmer and consumer are further strengthened thanks to our popular ON Farm Fest event! This fun and informative day of agritourism is completely free and we are incredibly proud to offer this unique experience each year,” McMahon continued, “I want to thank everyone who helps make this campaign and ON Farm fest possible.”

“We’re thrilled to announce a lineup of ON Farm Fest host farms that reflect the diversity of Onondaga
County’s agriculture system: from an urban farm to a thriving dairy, a winery to a horse rescue. I am confident anyone who attends ON Farm Fest will leave with a deeper appreciation for how important agriculture is to their daily lives – and to our community as a whole,” said Onondaga County Agriculture Council Chairman and Onondaga County Legislator David Knapp.

The “Buy Local. Buy Onondaga Grown.” campaign educates the community on the health and economic benefits of purchasing in-season produce and other local products. Through radio and TV commercials, social media posts, and signage, the campaign also highlights specific producers from within Onondaga County.

All local retailers – from restaurants to grocers, farm stores to markets – who offer agricultural products grown in Onondaga County are invited to participate in the Onondaga Grown campaign by requesting a free media kit containing posters, window clings for entryways, and sheets of stickers for Onondaga Grown products. This gives consumers an easy way to identify and purchase Onondaga Grown products.

The community is encouraged to select Onondaga Grown items by looking for the Onondaga Grown logo at local grocers, convenience stores, farm stands, farmers markets and restaurants – and by visiting https://onondagagrown.com/ as well as the Onondaga Grown social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.