Last week, a Nelson Farms salsa tasting featured south-of-the-border flavor from entirely local ingredients.
“All this produce came from our own community, our own friends and neighbors,” said Tina McPherson, owner of Primo & Mary’s Heritage Products. “We’re very excited about it.”
McPherson spent nine months locating and preparing local produce for her salsa, developing a label and promoting her product with the help of Nelson Farms in Nelson.
“It’s been a good journey,” McPherson said.
For McPherson, promoting her salsa from locally grown produce was a priority and part of a larger goal.
“We’re encouraging people to be ‘locovores,'” McPherson said. “By shopping local, eating local and supporting everything local.”
McPherson formed Primo & Mary’s Heritage Products, named after her great-grandfather and his daughter, to honor and express her heritage.
“I grew up in a family of chefs,” she said. “I have a culinary background I just thought this would be a great way to incorporate my family.”
According to McPherson, business has been booming.
“We have been super busy,” she said.
And because she relies on local products, once the latest batch sells out, “we can’t make more until local produce is grown again the end of July, early August.”
McPherson’s black bean and corn salsa contains produce from Nelson, Liverpool, Cazenovia, Canastota, Cicero, Caledonia and Morrisville. It is available at Nelson Farms, Cheshire Cat in Cazenovia and Hamilton Whole Foods in Hamilton.
Ten percent of profits go to the Two Smile One Hope Foundation to support two local twin boys with muscular dystrophy.
