New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball today announced that the Taste NY program is kicking off two new social media contests to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the program and promote New York State food, beverages, and agritourism during the holiday season. New Yorkers traveling across the state in November and December can participate in the contests for a chance to win prizes, including gift baskets filled with New York-made food, beverages, and gift items from each region of the state and gift cards to ShopTasteNY.com, the program’s e-commerce marketplace. This initiative closes out a year-long series of events the Department held across the state to recognize Taste NY’s anniversary milestone and the program’s over $100 million in economic impact to New York State producers since its launch.
Commissioner Ball said, “For 10 years, Taste NY has been promoting all the best products New York has to offer, highlighting the hardworking men and women who produce them and bringing new customers to their doors. We’ve had a great year celebrating the success of this program over the past decade, and there’s no better time to wrap up our festivities than during the holiday season. If you’re traveling this holiday season, I encourage you to take the time to stop at a Taste NY Market along the way to support your local farmers and entrepreneurs and take part in the #TasteTurns10 contests for a chance to win some delicious prizes for your holiday tables.”
#TriviaTuesday
Taste NY Markets and regional Welcome Centers across the state are holding a virtual trivia contest leading up to the unveiling of their annual Christmas tree toppers. This year, the NYS Grown & Certified Christmas trees on display at each of the state’s regional Welcome Centers and Taste NY Markets will highlight a different New York agricultural commodity in a homemade tree topper. In the four weeks leading up to the tree topper unveiling, social media users will have the opportunity to guess what four commodities Taste NY will be featuring in the tree toppers based on a weekly series of trivia questions.
Each post will include a link to a form where followers can guess the commodity for a chance to be entered to win a $25 ShopTasteNY.com gift card. Participants will have until the Friday of the week the question is posted to enter. On each Friday, a winner will be drawn from a pool of that week’s participants. On Monday, December 11, all the tree toppers will be revealed.
#TasteTurns10 Selfie Contest
Additionally, starting Monday, November 20, and running through the end of the year, Taste NY Markets in the 10 regional Welcome Centers across the state will offer New York State-themed “selfie stations.” To participate in the contest, New Yorkers and visitors traveling for the holiday season snap a photo at the selfie station and post it on Facebook or Instagram using the hashtags #TasteTurns10. A QR code provided at the selfie station will provide directions for how to ensure participants are entered in the contest.
Each regional Welcome Center will award one contest winner a Taste NY gift basket filled with regional food, beverages, and gift items from local Taste NY markets. Entries for the gift baskets must be received by December 31 and drawings will be held in early January. Winners will be notified by email and directed to pick up baskets at their regional Welcome Center.
This promotional contest comes as part of the Department’s year-long series of events across the state in recognition of the 2023 10-year milestone of the Taste NY program and its success over the last decade, including over $100 million in economic impact to New York State producers since its launch. The Department has held open house events at Taste NY Markets across the state, including at the regional Welcome Centers and the Olana State Historic Site, to showcase the diversity and quality of New York State's farmers and food and beverage producers. Taste NY was also celebrated at the 2023 Great New York State Fair through a special Tasting Yard at the Fair’s Suburban Park featuring seven local breweries, a highlight of the program’s logo in the Sand Sculpture exhibit, as well as expanding offerings at the Taste NY Pop-Up Market and Marketplace.
About Taste NY
Taste NY highlights the quality, diversity, and economic impact of food and beverages grown, produced, or processed in New York State. Taste NY aims to create new opportunities for producers through events, retail locations, and partnerships, such as at The Great New York State Fair and the Barclays Tournament at Bethpage State Park. Over the last 10 years, Taste NY has supported nearly 2,000 food and beverage producers participating in the program through retail outlets, events, and sponsorships. In 2022, 311 new producers were onboarded to the program through New York's Welcome Centers. Taste NY's food and beverage businesses also support the state's farmers by using New York grown and produced ingredients in their products.
