In the mid-1700s and into the 1800s, the region in and around Schenectady was the breadbasket for European colonial settlers. Wheat was grown and milled into flour that was sold throughout the region. Vegetables, cheese and even brooms made from corn were a part of a diversified regional economy that grew up along the Mohawk River Valley. Before - and during - that time, the Indigenous Mohawk communities here were known for keeping vast storehouses of food in order to feed their community for three years out. They grew white corn that was over a foot long and winter squash and beans that they processed and stored. They also tended vast orchards of peaches and apples grown from European seeds. 


Since then we have created a centralized food system that relies on industrial agriculture controlled by corporate ownership and sustained by federal government subsidies. We saw how fragile this is with COVID in 2020. Now, this current federal administration has chosen to weaponize hunger. In January 2025 they began cutting funding to farmers who worked with food banks and food access programs – small farmers who spent time and money to work with the federal government to get more food to their community.  Then, more recently with the federal government shutdown,  the USDA began sending threatening letters to farmers telling them that if they showed preferential treatment to SNAP holders, like if they made sure they had food, then they would lose their ability to accept SNAP in the future. I find this unconscionable and frankly, chilling. It’s a reminder how controlling access to food is a way of controlling people. 

And at the level of industrial agriculture we are in real trouble for the future. We have been taught/told that only giant industrial “highly productive” agricultural farms can feed us. There is much evidence to suggest that the depletion of the soil by large scale agricultural practices will lead to worsening food crises as the soils become depleted of nutrients and unable to support growing food. And this is not even taking into account climate change... Scientists at the United Nations believe we have less than 50 years before we have depleted the soils, on a global level, so they can no longer grow food. Hard to imagine? Think of the US dust bowl spread across the entire world. Current thinking and research points to small, diverse farms as better caretakers of the soil that must be maintained. Small farms can meet local needs and cultures with specialized foods. Farmers are in the fabric of the community.

Imagine: what if we set a goal to feed our entire community, mostly from food grown locally? There is still farmland in Schenectady. What would it take to create and sustain regional food systems? Disperse power instead of centralize it? Grow food in a system that emphasizes care of the soil and sustains the farmers as well?  Imagine growing food meant to nourish all of us and support a vibrant flourishing planet, not a dead one sprayed with chemical herbicides and pesticides. Over the years of growing urban farms in Schenectady, meeting farmers and following the larger trends and research, I do not think this is as crazy as it might sound to those accustomed to believe the current industrial story. 

We have opportunities right now in Schenectady to move toward a more nourishing, healthy and sustainable system for all of us. I know many farmers and I know there are more farmers, even young farmers, who want to grow food and don’t yet have access to land. Happily for us, we have a Schenectady County Food Council with a working group on agriculture, “Roots & Resilience" as well as the Schenectady Urban Farms and the Schenectady City School District Farm to School program growing food, farmers, and soil within the city. Each week, year round, the Schenectady Greenmarket connects 70 regional farmers and food producers with diverse local eaters. As reflected by the annual Schenectady Seed Swap, we’re learning to save and share our seeds, too, building a community-rooted food system from the ground up. 

And, thanks to our community of 1320+ Member-Owners, we will open the doors to our Electric City Community Grocery in 2026!!  Our community grocery will keep ownership and governance local, making it possible to be responsive to the specific, diverse, and dynamic needs of the community. Through partnerships with local farmers who practice regenerative agriculture - like Lovin’ Mama Farms and Skywoman’s Forever Farm - we will be further empowered to regenerate our soil and our relationships with one another at the same time. Building on the tremendous success of the Greenmarket, our co-op will connect regional farmers and food producers with a diverse customer base in the heart of the Electric City, 7 days a week. 

We really have in our region what we need to create a healthy, vibrant and delicious future for all of us. Perhaps what we need most to continue moving in that direction is a shift in perspective and a willingness to do the work in creating something new, together. Pooling our time, talent, and treasure as Member-Owners of the Electric City Community Grocery is a powerful way to create the delicious future we’re hungry for, together.