Sell Out Sunday – Stick and Go

I’m back in town for a few days. I desperately need some fresh laundry. I’m hungry for the August harvest from Roxbury Farm, which hopefully will start to include more tomatoes. And within hours of my arrival, Mrs. Fussy let me out of the house so that I could make a much needed trip to Trader Joe’s.

Saturday night, they ran out of cookie butter, and they were almost out of the Spanish Olive Oil I’d been looking forward to for months. Luckily I snagged a couple of the last remaining bottles. But the best news is that I don’t need to hoard them. I can go back to TJ’s whenever I want. That’s awesome.

There will be more on TJ’s later, but what was painfully obvious is that the patrons on Day Two didn’t quite know how to maneuver in a space that’s filled with other people. Despite having the widest aisles I’ve ever seen at a Trader Joe’s, they were clogged with carts and people mindlessly mulling around.

The key is to stick and go. Put your cart somewhere at the end of the aisle, dart down, get what you need, and then come back. But today isn’t about shopping strategies. Today is about sharing the press releases I’ve accumulated over the week: I’ve got news of a bacon event, local produce on a large scale, and the mystery of the great disappearing press release.

Despite being passed over as a judge, I’m oddly still plugging this
BACON FEST NY 2012 FEATURES SIZZLING LOCAL FLAVORS, LIVE BANDS AND SUMMERTIME FUN.

Food festival in Hudson, NY highlights talent of the region, and crowns the “Best Bacon Dish of NY”, while supporting the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY.

Delmar, NY – Live Local, Inc. is presenting the premiere summertime food festival, Bacon Fest NY 2012, on Sept. 2, 2012 at the Henry Hudson Waterfront Park from 9:00am – 6:00pm.  Bacon Fest NY is a celebration of sizzling food and musical talent from the eastern regions of NY (Southern Adirondacks and the Capital Region, Hudson Valley, NYC) and the Berkshires.  Situated on the banks
of the Hudson River, Bacon Fest NY will feature vendors of bacon dishes, products and crafts that bring together the best of the region’s chefs, farms and artisans.

Bacon Fest NY will host the first ever “Best Bacon Dish of NY” competition, awarding the tastiest savory and sweet dishes exhibited by area chefs.  Celebrity “foodies”, such as Steve Barnes, Times Union food editor, will judge the competition based on taste, creativity and all around supreme baconness.

The main stage at Bacon Fest NY will showcase the best live music from regional bands: Red Haired Strangers, Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, The Lucky Jukebox Brigade, Eastbound Jesus and Unexplained Bacon.

The mission of Live Local, Inc. is to produce events and opportunities that celebrate regional culture while benefitting the local community. To accomplish this mission, Live Local, Inc. is working together with two local organizations to produce Bacon Fest NY: the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY and the Hudson Development Corporation.  In addition to spotlighting the talent of the region, Bacon Fest NY will bring traffic to the city of Hudson, as well as raise awareness and funds for the elimination of hunger in the region –  $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the food bank.

About the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York
The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that collects donated food from the food industry and distributes it to nearly 1,000 charitable agencies feeding the hungry in 23 counties of northeastern New York. The food provided by the Regional Food Bank helps to feed over 40,000 people each week. In 2010, the organization distributed nearly 25 million pounds of food to the hungry. The Regional Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s food bank network. The organization is supported by foundations, private contributions and fundraising events. For information on services offered by the Regional Food Bank, call (518) 786-3691 or log on to http://www.regionalfoodbank.net.

Media Contact: Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, 965 AlbanyShaker Rd., Latham, NY 12110 (518) 786-3691 info@regionalfoodbank.net

About Hudson Development Corporation
The Hudson Development Corporation [HDC] is a non profit Local Development Corporation (LDC) established to sustain, promote and attract projects that improve economic opportunities for businesses and residents, create jobs and enhance the quality of life in the City of Hudson.

Media Contact: Sheena Salvino, Executive Director, Hudson Development Corporation, Hudson Community Development and Planning Agency, 1 North Front St., Hudson, NY 12534 (518)751-1044 sheena@hudsonfirst.com

About Live Local, Inc.
Live Local, Inc., established in 2010, produces sporting and entertainment events and opportunities to benefit local communities, culture and economies. Bacon Fest NY 2012 is their first meat and music festival.

Event Details
When: Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012 from 9:00am – 6:00pm
Where: Henry Hudson Waterfront Parker, Water St., Hudson, NY
Cost: $8 online, $10 at the gate
For more information: http://www.baconfestny.com
Advanced Ticket Sales: http://bacon-fest-ny-2012.myshopify.com/
Contact: mikko@liveyourlifelocal.com

These numbers are large, but check the math regarding the increases
Just thought that you’d be interested to know that Chipotle plans to serve more than 10 million pounds (yes. MILLION) of locally grown produce for the second year in a row…that’s up from 5 million pounds just two years ago. And part of all of that local produce, from local family farmers, is at every Chipotle near you.

Did you know that Chipotle is the only national restaurant company with a significant commitment to using locally grown produce and is a leader in supporting local family farms and more sustainable agriculture.

It has steadily increased its locally sourced produce supply since beginning the program in 2008 with the commitment to serve really delicious vegetables grown on farms within 350 miles of the restaurants where they will be served. There currently are over 1300 Chipotles across the US and Canada.

“Supporting local farms continues to be important to us,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “Food that is locally grown is fresher and better tasting, and supports local farm communities around the country. Making local food accessible is an important part of our commitment to providing better food from more sustainable sources.  It is a key element in our effort to change the way people think about and eat fast food.”

According to a recent online survey of 2,000 adults by market research firm Mintel, more than half (52%) of U.S. consumers say it’s more important to buy local produce than organic options. To that end, Chipotle works with local, family-owned farms to provide bell peppers, red onions, jalapenos, oregano, and romaine lettuce for its restaurants. Chipotle restaurants in Florida and California also source locally grown tomatoes, as well as lemons and Haas  avocados in California.

If you like numbers: In 2011, Chipotle’s local produce haul included 3.6 million pounds of bell peppers, more than 400,000 pounds of jalapenos, 2 million pounds of red onions, 4.7 million pounds of romaine lettuce, and more than a combined 300,000 pounds of cilantro and oregano.

Beyond this commitment, Chipotle continues to serve significant quantities of organically grown beans and cilantro. It is also working with Food Alliance certified growers to source beans that use conservation tillage methods, which reduce soil erosion. The company sources 100 percent of its meat from animals that are naturally raised (the animals are never given antibiotics or added hormones), and increasing amounts of milk from pasture-raised dairy cattle for its cheese and sour cream.

“Finding local suppliers to meet our needs is challenging, but very much worth the effort,” said Ells. “We think it’s important to serve great tasting food, made with ingredients from more sustainable sources in a way that is accessible to everyone, and locally grown produce is a big part of that.”

This is where Creo’s Grassfed Beef Specials are supposed to go
[From an email dated August 2, 2012]
I wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that we are going to be getting you some information on this weekend’s grass fed beef specials.  I know that you and [chef] Brian have been in contact and I just want to help with getting you the details as quickly as possible and keeping you up-to-speed.

I plan to get you the details tomorrow along with some pictures.

[FUSSYlittleNOTE: I never got anything.]

[Amended] YIKES! I forgot this amazing news from Price Chopper about bagels!

PRICE CHOPPER CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF BAKING AUTHENTIC NYC-STYLE BAGELS FROM SCRATCH
In-store Bagel Factories Have Mixed, Boiled and Baked Millions of FreshBagels; Anniversary to Be Celebrated With Specials, Drawings and Other Promotions

(SCHENECTADY, NY)  Price Chopper Supermarkets is celebrating the 20^th anniversary of its in-storeBagel Factories which handcraft fresh New York style bagels and bialys from scratch for customers on a daily basis.  To commemorate the occasion, Price Chopper is offering some insight into the unique process of handcrafting authentic bagels and a chance for customers to win free bagels for a year.

“Price Chopper was ahead of the trend in the increasing popularity of bagels.  Twenty years ago, authentic, high quality bagels made from scratch using this elaborate process were few and far between,” said Mona Golub, Price Chopper’s vice president of public relations and consumer and marketing services.  “Even, today, in a supermarket setting, it’s rare to find product of this high quality.”

The growth of Price Chopper’s Bagel Factories has mirrored the growth in popularity of bagels across the country.  Since 1995, bagel sales have increased more than 500% nationwide.  In 2012, growth has continued and Price Chopper has continued to introduce new varieties and products that respond to consumer desires.  New to Bagel Factories in just the last year are more than 20 flavors of crispy BagelChips and three new whole grain bagel varieties (plain, oat and raisin) introduced this week.

“We pride ourselves in making authentic bagels that bake to a fine crisp on the outside while remaining dense and chewy on the inside.  Our Bagel Factories utilize traditional ingredients and New York style boiling and baking techniques to handcraft a superior fresh product every day of the week,” said Golub.

A video showing Price Chopper’s Bagel Factory baking techniques is available at: http://www2.pricechopper.com/bakery/bagelvid.shtml.

To celebrate 20 years of Bagel Factories, Price Chopper is also offering customers a chance to win free bagels for a year.  Go to http://www2.pricechopper.com/bakery/bagelvid.shtml to get contest rules and to enter.

“Our customers are the reason that we go to such great lengths to bake such high quality bagels. They appreciate the distinctive quality, flavor and texture of our authentic Bagel Factory bagels and bialys and purchase thousands of them on a weekly basis.  For 20 years, we’ve mixed, boiled and baked freshbagels every day, and we intend to continue doing so for a long time to come,” said Golub.

###