Morrisville State products make landing at LaGuardia, Kennedy airports

Travelers in LaGuardia International Airport are getting a taste of the ingenuity of Morrisville State, and soon those at John F. Kennedy International Airport will too with the opening of “Taste NY” stores featuring products made by Nelson Farms and MSC students.



The new stores are part of “Taste NY” launched by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to highlight New York's food and beverage industry. The goal is to make the wide variety of foods made and grown in the state readily available and recognizable to New York residents, tourists and the world.



Morrisville State is onboard with the governor's plan. “We are so happy to be a major part of this promotion,” said Dave Evans, director of Nelson Farms “Part of our mission is to help market the products we produce and this is wonderful exposure for our clients.”



Nelson Farms, operated by the Morrisville Auxiliary Corporation (MAC), is a unique combination of a business incubator and food product processing facility. It assists entrepreneurs, including Morrisville students and existing private firms, with product development, small-scale food processing, marketing and sales and distribution and is also a Pride of New York distributor for the entire state.



Having products at LaGuardia International Airport, one of the busiest hubs in the nation handling millions of passengers each year, will give the products exposure to people from all around the world, Evans noted. “Taste NY” is located in LaGuardia Airport's Delta Terminal C.

The store is already showcasing a myriad of the college's products made through Nelson Farms, including salsa, maple syrup, candy and coffee.



Road Kill Slather Sauces are additional products being offered there through Morrisville Fresh, a student-operated business managed by the agricultural business program students at Morrisville State.



Gourmet hot chocolate products, made by Morrisville State students in cooperation with Nelson Farms, will also be hitting the shelves soon. Those products, produced in Associate Professor Christopher Scalzo's entrepreneurship and business plan class, include three flavors; original, mint and cherry.



Other brands featured in the “Taste NY” store include New York State wines.



Cases of the college's products are set to hit the “Taste NY” store at Kennedy International Airport, located in southern Queens, within the next couple of weeks, according to Evans.



In 2013, “Taste NY” has already had a large presence at the PGA Tournament in Rochester and the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse. Nelson Farms was also selected to run the building at the inaugural “Taste NY” event held at the State Fairgrounds this year. The college also ran that building, formerly known as the Pride of New York Marketplace, in past years.



Additionally, Nelson Farms' and agricultural business products have hit the road and are located in 11 New York State Thruway travel plaza/service stops; Chittenango, Clifton Springs, Oneida Castle, Iroquois, Junius Pond, New Baltimore, Oneida, Pattersonville, Plattekill, Stoatsburg, and Ulster.



Products are also available at the Nelson Farms Country Store located between Cazenovia and Morrisville in the village of Nelson on Route 20 and the corner of Nelson Road.



The Country Store offers an assortment of approximately 600 tantalizing treats and goods including chocolates, confections, jams, jellies, salsa, syrup, barbecue sauces, marinara, gourmet pasta sauces, mustards, dressings, pancake mixes, chocolate sauces, nuts, soaps, candles and more.



For the holidays, the store is selling gift boxes filled with an array of Pride of New York local products. Boxes can be shipped anywhere in New York State.



Also in stock at the Nelson Farms Country Store are mild, medium or hot Slather Sauce, Maple Madness Syrup, Pineapple Salsa, Sweet-n-Spicy Apple Mustard, Apple-n-Spice All-Purpose Seasoning & Rub, Mustang trail mixes and other products produced and marketed by students in Morrisville State's agricultural business program. Gourmet hot chocolate products are also available.



For more information about Nelson Farms Country Store, call 315.655.3301 or visit www.nelsonfarms.org. For more information about “Taste NY,” visit www.taste.ny.gov.

Nelson Farms Country Store is open every day over the holiday season, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.