Executive Director Carolyn Mugar Farm Aid 501 Cambridge Street, Third Floor Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02141 Dear Executive Director Carolyn Mugar, We write today to urge you to choose Buffalo, New York as the host city of Farm Aid 2012. With its newly revitalized waterfront, proximity to international metropolitan cities and tourism destinations, and a thriving local food and agriculture movement, Buffalo offers the market and infrastructure necessary to make Farm Aid 2012 a success, and also reflects directly upon the founding mission of Farm Aid, as the city sits in the heart of a rich agricultural region. The local food movement is alive and well in Western New York. In some of Buffalo’s most economically distressed neighborhoods lie vibrant urban farms, a spectacular garden co-op, even a sustainable tilapia farm on property that was once a blighted vacant lot. The farm to table movement is growing exponentially, with over 400 independently-owned restaurants promoting locally-grown and raised food. Farm Aid’s impact will be significant, acknowledged and supported by the local community, and would ignite this movement’s momentum even further. Buffalo is a city surrounded by rural towns rooted in agriculture. From small estate grape growers to orchards and family-owned dairy farms, the Buffalo region has held an agricultural tradition for generations. Western New York is home to over 1,000 family-owned dairy farms, over 700 grape-growers and hundreds of orchards, contributing $300 million to New York’s economy annually. Similar to Farm Aid’s mission of keeping farmers on their land, we have been connecting with these farmers, doing our best to support the men, women and families that work so tirelessly to feed our nation. What better way to recognize and honor the legacy of New York Farmers than by bringing Farm Aid here for them to enjoy firsthand. The City is well-suited to host an event of Farm Aid’s magnitude. Buffalo lies just a ninety-minute drive south of Toronto, Canada, and just miles from Niagara Falls, which draws over 8 million tourists on an annual basis. It is home to dozens of architectural gems, and was touted as a world-class destination by Stephanie Meeks, President and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, following their annual conference that set a new record for attendance here in Buffalo this past October. We strongly encourage you to give Buffalo serious consideration to host Farm Aid 2012. We know you and your great roster of performers will want to come back again and again.
