Beth Irons, Market Manager
Beth was born in Newfoundland, Canada & raised in upstate, NY. She graduated from SUNY Oswego with a BS in Zoology and spent 30+ years in professional animal care. Beth was hired as the Market Manager for the Oneida County Public Market in March 2012 & takes great pride in the ways the market combats food insecurity by managing the County’s first year-round farmer’s market! As of July 2019, the Public Market became a program of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County in the Agricultural Economic Development Department, positioning it to continue to grow & achieve sustainability by adding new activities for consumers, & new opportunities for participating vendors. Management focus is on creating a clean, safe, family friendly environment for vendors to set up shop & consumers to come, shop & support local farmers & artisans. When not at the market, you can find Beth bundled up next to a fire enjoying the great outdoors with her loved ones.
“I take a great deal of pride in helping to create a positive atmosphere at the REA wing each Saturday morning that includes local and regional farmers and producers providing the best they have to offer to our consumers in the immediate neighborhood and surrounding communities. We continue to strive to be inclusive with the diversity populations that are part of the fabric of Utica, and to the traveling public that utilize Union Station for their travels throughout the state. We work very hard to send them on their way with great food in their bags and tasty bites for them to enjoy along the way.” -Beth Irons
Audra Benincasa, Online Coordinator
Audra was born and raised in Deerfield, NY, right here in Oneida County. She received a BS in Environmental Science with a concentration of sustainability science and policy, from the University at Albany (SUNY) in 2020. She joined the Cornell Cooperative Extension and the OCPM in February of 2024 as their Online Coordinator. Before she joined the market, she worked at a couple local small businesses in the restaurant and retail industries. Her time in these sectors gave her skills in areas such as management, vendor relations, and social media content creation. Audra’s primary responsibilities with this role are to manage the OCPM E-Commerce site and run the market’s social media accounts. Audra also became a certified Eco-Rep during her time in college. She worked on projects with fellow students with the goal of increasing student and university staff awareness of the unsustainable practices of the campus and invoking change on the campus. She is passionate about creating positive changes and learning more about food and its impact on everyday life. In her spare time, you can find Audra exploring the local towns and communities with her friends and family (and her dog Gordie!).
“I love being a part of an organization whose goals are to make our community a better place, connect people with local farmers and producers, and support local small businesses. I’m looking forward to being more active and involved in our local food space, while learning what our community needs and wants from our public market. I hope to help expand the market by making it a more diverse and inclusive space for our vendors and customers. And I will work hard to make our pop-up community market a welcoming and inviting space for all people.” -Audra Benincasa
Roscoe the Rooster
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!!!!
My name is Roscoe and I am the face of the wonderful Oneida County Public Market! I’ve been around since 2023, where the public had the opportunity to give me the most rocking name – Roscoe!!
I will be popping up at market here and there and can’t wait to meet you! Be on the lookout for our logo across the city and think of our great local market!
Come on down and grab some delicious locally grown and made food, and more!