Carey Institute Receives More than $250,000 in USDA & ESD Grants
Grants used to develop online platform to connect New York State’s craft beverage industry
RENSSELAERVILLE—Professionals in New York State’s craft beverage industry can expect to be a lot more connected by this time next year, with the launch of Source NY in 2016. The Carey Institute for Global Good received $259,339 in grants to create Source NY, an online platform to connect farmers, craft beverage producers and other industry service providers across the state. The grants include an Empire State Development Corporation Craft Beverage Marketing Grant and a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant.
The concept for Source NY was developed as part of the Carey Institute’s Sustainable Communities program after the passage of the Farm Brewery Bill by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in 2012. The legislation created the farm brewery license, making it easier for small breweries to get licensed, but also requires that licensees purchase 90 percent of their ingredients from New York State producers by 2024. The legislation spurred rapid growth within the industry, with Governor Cuomo announcing last week that more than 100 farm breweries are now in operation in New York State. As that number continues to grow, the demand for locally grown ingredients like hops and small grains will increase as well.
In order to meet the needs of the industry, craft beverage producers and farmers need a way to coordinate supplies with growing demand and conduct market transactions; however, there is currently no centralized platform to do so. Governor Cuomo sought to address this communication gap by making the development of an online marketplace to connect farmers to beverage producers a deliverable of the 2014 Beverage Summit. Source NY intends to fulfill this deliverable.
“The Farm Brewery legislation provides an excellent opportunity to revitalize small grains and hops production in New York State. However, in order to capitalize on this new market farmers and craft beverage professionals need to be able to find each other,” said Rebecca Platel, Sustainable Communities program manager at the Carey Institute. “Source NY will be designed to help the industry build and maintain local supply chains for crops and services, and we are thrilled that ESD and USDA saw that value in the project.”
The Carey Institute has partnered with Sourcemap, a supply chain mapping software company that allows users to map and manage complex supply chains. Sourcemap and the Carey Institute will work with beverage producers to create a customized platform that will serve as a directory of growers, processors, craft beverage producers and other service providers, and will also act as an online marketplace for selling and procuring New York State ingredients.
The platform is expected to be released in 2016. Feedback from future users in the craft beverage industry is needed in order to complete customizing the software. To learn more contact Rebecca Platel at rplatel@careyinstitute.org.
The Carey Institute for Global Good is a not-for-profit organization founded in 2012 by Wm. P. Carey and is dedicated to making the world better by contributing to a strong, educated and just society. Through its programs, the Institute strives to bring together innovative and dynamic people from around the world to seek creative solutions to the most pressing challenges of the day.
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