SHERBURNE – The desire for farm fresh local foods is getting big, real big! So big that it serves the tables of veritable Giants – the New York Football Giants in fact. Dan and Vickie Purdy of Purdy and Sons Foods had the distinct privilege of sitting and dining with the World Champions this past month. What was on the menu? The finest farm sourced, customized meats in the land.

Yes, the New York Giants pre-season training camp was held at SUNY Albany these past few weeks as they dug up the college turf in pursuit of another Super Bowl ring. The New York Giants feasted on thick, juicy New York State pork steaks and chops in the facilities of a fine food provider – a New York State University – that is, SUNY Albany.

You may ask – a SUNY campus? Fine dining? Farm fresh quality of food, and customized cuts of delicious meats at SUNY Albany?! That’s huge! Yes, many food service facilities across the state haves partnered with Purdy and Sons Foods to bring the best quality, farm fresh, sustainable and localized foods to those the campuses provides for – even thousands of college students – even for the full roster of the 2012 Super Bowl Champs. That’s not just a tall order – that’s well, Giant!

So what is behind this very big, tasty and yes, surprising initiative? After all, it was once thought that you could only get “institutional” quality of food for institutional needs - no longer! SUNY Albany was an example of a college institution that wanted to be ahead of the curve, demanded a better quality of food for the campus population. They teamed up with Purdy and Sons Foods (centered in Sherburne) to accomplish this. The Executive Director of the University Auxiliary Services at Albany, Steve Pearse affirmed “…we would like to be at the forefront with providing local products as it has many layers of benefit, even beyond the freshness and quality of the end product.”

Instead of relying on the big box, one size fits all, corporate offerings of the West, the culinary staff is pleased to work in cooperation with the provisional excellence that Purdy and Sons has spear-headed throughout localities in New York State over the last decade. No longer is there a need to be concerned about growth hormones, preservatives, and inhumane practices.

The meats, vegetables and fruit that are provided by Purdy and Sons are sourced for quality and purity, New York State and Federally inspected, and processed according to high specification of the chefs who prepare the meals, and delivered to the institutions such as SUNY Albany in a timely manner. The meals enjoyed by student and Giant alike are delivered fresh, of the highest quality and deliciously prepared.

The farm fresh, sustainable and localized product mission for institutions that Purdy and Sons Foods has spearheaded, is now statewide. Other New York State schools that now utilize their services are SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Morrisville, SUNY New Paltz, Paul Smith College, Colgate, RPI and many others.

Through the sustainable foods vision of Purdy and Sons Foods, this streamlining of process and quality assurance oversight from beginning to end guarantees a better dining experience. A dining experience that the college students may even write home about. Now that’s big!