Hudson Valley Bounty Launches Brand New Website

Approximately 40% of people will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load, and the people behind Hudson Valley Bounty must have known this for a fact, because they just re-launched their website.

The site, already the most comprehensive local farm and food portal, decided that a fresh look was a great way to close out the summer. With the new site, they’ve managed to outdo themselves and provide an even more efficient and comprehensive experience for visitors.

With a fresh look and increased functionality, the new Hudson Valley Bounty website showcases a larger number of food enterprises, more refined search capabilities, new food categories, and more in-depth details of its participants.

More than 475 farms and local food enterprises are featured on the new site, complete with with descriptions, product lists, photos, maps and wholesale and contact information for each business in the Hudson Valley.

“Hudson Valley Bounty aims to support our region’s diverse agricultural community by educating buyers and consumers and encouraging local product sourcing,” said Iyla Shornstein, program coordinator of Hudson Valley Bounty.

However, Hudson Valley Bounty isn’t the only enterprise singing the praises of local food and farmers.

Locals at the Dutchess County fair might wonder why those milkshakes are so delicious, but local dairy farmer Harry Baldwin can tell them the answer in no time.

“One word: Quality,” said the Dutchess County Dairy Committee member. “We use a mixture of milk and ice cream, with 13% butter fat. That’s how they measure the quality of the ice cream. Butter fat adds flavor to your ice cream.”

When the local farmer’s milkshake booth started up in the 1970s, they were a small team. However, as the shakes grew in popularity, the committee hired more help.

“I started somewhere around 1980 scooping ice cream, and that time we had more space than what we needed,” Baldwin said. “We had a manager, a cashier and three or four volunteers. It has grown tremendously since the early days.”

In the past year alone, the committee has sold a whopping 22,000 milkshakes. At $4.50, Baldwin said that the milkshakes are still the lowest-priced on the fairgrounds.

The power of local food never ceases to amaze, both in community and in taste.

Hudson Valley Bounty encourages local farmers and business owners to register their information for the site, a process that’s completely free.

“We are longtime supporters of a CSA and enjoy farm share programs, farmers markets and restaurants that are serious about locally sourced food, so building this directory to help educate and promote the many great farms and related businesses across various counties was a great experience,” said Michael Sullivan, the site’s creator.