The Great New York State fair hosts a plethora of different food vendors each year, but one food item in particular brings New Yorkers back to the Fairgrounds over and over. Surprisingly, this item is not one of the many delicious American fried dishes that grace carnivals and amusement parks around the country. It’s as simple as chocolate milk.

For just one quarter, fairgoers can buy 7 ounces of delicious milk at the Dairy Products Building right on the Fairgrounds. Inside the building, the milk is available for purchase at what is commonly known as the milk bar.

The milk has been sold from inside that building since 1952 and is operated by a nonprofit organization, New York State Dairy Exhibits Inc.

In 1983, each cup of milk was priced at $.25, and the price has stayed the same since then. But in early August, the price was at risk of going up to $.50.

The cost of the milk bar’s operation has become a financial burden to the nonprofit over the years. New York State Dairy Exhibits Inc. spokesperson Bruce Krupke said that a price increase has been on the table for four years, and this year the financial burden became a bit too heavy.

Krupke said the state subsidized the milk bar with over $30,000 in two years, and the money helped pay for plastic cups among other expenses. However, even this wasn’t enough, and the proposed price increase was announced on Aug. 10.

However, in a stroke of luck, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo authorized another $90,000 for the milk bar, a subsidy that allowed the dairy board to keep the price back down at the well-loved and time-tested price of $.25.

Cuomo also approved a $50 million budget for Fairground revitalization last September, which brought the Fair and its attractions out of the 20th century and into the 21st. In a simple twist of fate, this extra $90,000 allowed the milk bar to favor tradition over modernization.

Out of all the Fair’s attractions, year after year the milk bar has proven to be one of the most famous. Each year, Krupke said 350,000 to 400,000 cups are sold at the Fair, racking in over $82,000 during the 2015 season.

Published on August 30, 2016 at 9:18 pm

Contact: cmrussel@syr.edu | @caseymrussell