“I’m teaching kids and adults who come and want to learn about sustainable agriculture,” she said. “So that experiential learning is key, and just educating people on the impact that they can have they can have on this earth by growing their own food.”
Her farm is part of the agri-culinary tourism movement, which the Strategic Tourism Planning Board of Tompkins County is working to grow and develop. Rosenberg is the co-chair for the Agri-Culinary Tourism Task Force that is working with the board to implement initiatives to meet their objectives in the 2020 Tompkins County Strategic Tourism Plan.
By 2020 the task force has three objectives: to increase the number of visitors to the wineries from 17 to 20 percent by 2016; to receive recognition in five or more national media outlets for culinary or agritourism; and to increase Finger Lakes Wine Center visits each year.
In 2012, visitors to Tompkins County spent $174 million and each person spent an average of $92 on dining, according to research by the STPB.
The task force held a workshop on Nov. 10 to discuss ideas with local restaurants, farms, wineries, breweries, professors and students on how agri-culinary tourism can be improved in the greater Ithaca area. The workshop had over 100 attendees.
“Our vision is to help hundreds of farmers, food producers, chefs, restaurants, wine-makers- everyone who is here tonight- make a good living while growing tourism in Tompkins County and making the Finger Lakes the premier destination for authentic and widening memorable farm and food experiences,” Tom Knipe, senior planner and tourism coordinator for STPB, said during the workshop.
Many of the attendees supported the idea of increasing partnerships between farms and restaurants, like Athena Steinkraus, whose family owns Little Tree Orchards in Newfield.
“I think people are moving more towards farm to fork and farm to table, and a lot of local restaurants are partnering with farmers for their vegetables, fruits, wines, and stuff like that,” she said. “So [we’re trying] to really get that word out there to the people to say ‘Hey, come here! This is a hub for these local products.’”
Moosewood is an Ithaca restaurant that is a strong proponent of locally sourcing food, and Wynnie Stein, one of the owners, wants other restaurants to follow the same practice.
“I’m part of this agritourism community, representing and having been involved in buying from local farmers for Moosewood for over 35 years,” she said. “This is what I believe is the future of our area, because the quality of products and the beauty of people’s energy and spirit that’s coming into everything.”
While the event’s main purpose was to brainstorm ideas to increase agri-culinary tourism in the area, the workshop also served as a way for businesses to network and establish new connections.
[topswf swf=’https://www.ithacaweek-ic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Moosewood-Sourcing-1.swf’ width=’600′ height=’617′ quality=’best’ wmode=’transparent’ scale=’default’ flashvars=” allowfullscreen=’false’]
“For myself, I would love to get some networking out of [the event],” Amber Zadrozny, the Tasting Room Manager of Six Mile Creek Vineyard, said. “Not just on a personal level but maybe find businesses that can work together and host special events together, some mutual advertising, [and] just some ways that we can support each other in the community.”
Some of the favored ideas that came out of the workshop include creating a local food app for smartphones, cooking classes after touring farms and wineries, and local familiarization tours to inform tourists about community resources.
The task force will be meeting in early December to discuss the ideas from the workshop and decide what it will implement.
