Q&A with Grow-NY Mentor Vicki Giarratano

The Grow-NY Food & Agriculture Summit is just around the corner, and our 20 finalists are busy preparing their pitches with support from dedicated mentors. Throughout the fall, the finalists have been exploring opportunities and building their networks in the Grow-NY region. Mentors, who bring both food and ag experience and deep roots in upstate New York, serve as a crucial resource during this time. 

New mentor Vicki Giarratano has been a driving force behind regional economic development, agricultural innovation, and community advancement in the state since 1998. She serves as the Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) in Broome County and has played a pivotal role in fostering sustainable local economies and statewide initiatives. 

Under her guidance, Broome County has become a model for food system innovation. Vicki led the development of two Taste NY markets to bolster the local food economy, the Broome County Regional Farmers Market and the Regional Agriculture Development Center. She serves as a key connector between CCE county offices, Cornell faculty, and state and federal stakeholders, aligning efforts to advance food systems and economic vitality. 

Read our Q&A with Vicki below to learn how her extensive experience is informing her mentorship approach.  

Question: What is your experience in food and ag innovation? 

Through my work at Cornell Cooperative Extension, I lead Food Systems projects and connect the dots from Extension programs to outcomes that impact statewide economic vitality —linking campus, county associations, and community to move ideas to results. 

As a young business owner, I had many failures; those failures taught me what it takes to succeed and built my tenacity. I know how to get started and turn a thought into reality. Through supporting the Taste NY and local farmers’ market programs across the state, I support small business development and help navigate the supply chain on the market side of the food system. 

I also have a love for the food industry — from idea to farm to table — because food bridges divides across culture and community. 

Question: What do you think makes the Grow-NY region the ideal place for startups to put down roots? 

Cornell research, CCE’s extension network, incubators, co-packers, and food safety experts. A region that is market ready. Through programs such as Taste NY, Grown and Certified, regional retailers, and agritourism, the region creates a breath of opportunity. Supply and demand at the source: Diverse farms, specialty crops, and processors — all within a geographical hub that reaches the state, region, U.S. and Canada and beyond. Most importantly, this is a place of natural beauty, a landscape to build and grow people, families, business and community. Wouldn’t everyone want to land here if they could? 

Question: What should food and ag startups keep in mind as they grow? 

Think of not where you are now, but where you want to go and grow. Think big and be innovative and courageous. A wise businesswoman once told me you may have to take a loss to make a gain. Failure is not the end; it causes us to restart and reset. Change is required to grow, be open to what could be. 

Question: What excites you about mentoring a Grow-NY finalist? 

What makes me most excited is watching a dream turn into a reality. Opening real doors: Connecting business to buyers, co-packers, CCE specialists, inspiring talent, and opportunities. Finger Farm Foods, the business that I am assigned, is inspiring and truly embraces what the contest is for. This family moved here from Georgia, placing themselves right in the Finger Lakes, and then established a business named after the Finger Lakes region. This was an intentional decision. Sarah and Alex are creating business not only for themselves, but for others. The multiplier effect is powerful. It is inspiring to see what they’re doing and where they are going.  

The 2025 Grow-NY Summit will take place November 12-13 at the Hotel Canandaigua in. Canandaigua, NY and virtually. Register today at cvent.me/E10znv.