New York was recently awarded a grant of $73,824 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be used to encourage bed and breakfast operators to use locally produced food and agricultural products.
I haven’t been able to find the exact number of B&Bs in NY state but I’m 
guessing it’s in the hundreds. The project is supposed to connect B&B establishments with local vendors they’re unfamiliar with and this is going to be achieved through the internet, seminars, advertising and other means, according to the program’s administrator Steve Miller of Cornell University.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if you’re operating a B&B, you’re probably aware of what’s in your surrounding area. We have several B&Bs on the island where I live and each one’s pamphlet touts the use of local produce. I’m also going to go further and guess that each B&B has a computer and internet access with all information about local fruits and vegetables easily available. Do we really need the federal government involved in this?
And is anyone going to seriously argue that this $73,824 could not be cut from the federal budget?
