Moving Beyond "Left" & "Right" to Cooperation & Mutual Care
Even as we celebrated International Day of Democracy and Constitution Day this week, we are also aware of threats to democracy, in part due to intensifying forces of fear and division, including polarization between the so-called "Left" and "Right." Surveys (e.g. Pew Charitable Trust, and Chicago Council on Global Affairs) show many Americans believe democracy is weakening, and international organizations have added the U.S. to watchlists for declining civic freedoms and shrinking rights We know our Constitution is more than a historic artifact and that democracy is more than a structure - both require sustained, active practice to protect democratic freedoms, civil liberties, and collective welfare.
At the Electric City Community Grocery, we are grateful to be practicing democracy together by leaning into our cooperative principles - beyond "left" and "right."
As reported in last week's Beet, on September 10th, City & State NY published an op-ed, "New York needs food co-ops, not government groceries." The author, Sara Horowitz, observed that "too often, the left favors strategies that focus on large, centralized government solutions, while the right seeks solutions only in the private sector," noting that this misses the power of cooperatives to create community-rooted solutions that have worked in the past and can work in the future. The Op-Ed emphasized that participation in food cooperatives are a powerful way to not only address food insecurity, but also strengthen civic life. In Horowitz's words:
"A food co-op is more than a store. It is a training ground where people learn how to run meetings, balance budgets, mediate disagreements and identify future leaders. At a moment when so many Americans feel alienated from politics and distrustful of institutions, the humble act of governing a local co-op could rebuild civic confidence from the ground up.”
Horowitz celebrates food cooperatives as a form of enterprise in what she calls the tradition of "mutualist institutions." She notes that these mutualist institutions (including cooperatives, unions and faith groups) once formed the backbone of civic life in the United States and are share three principles:
they are built on solidarity,
they recycle their income back into the organization for members’ benefit,
and they pass governance and wisdom across generations.
We are proud to be part of this tradition.
We are excited that our proposed amendments to our by-laws allow us to continue building in this tradition - including being able to refund our grocery's surplus income back for members' benefit.
And we're thrilled to be building an institution that is deeply rooted in our community's wisdom and will continue across generations.
All of these themes were reflected in our Board President, Eric Johnson's Guest Column in the Daily Gazette, also published on September 10. Although we included the link to the Daily Gazette article last week, for this month's Food for Thought, we wanted to share it with our community in its entirety, in case any of you missed it.
I grew up in Schenectady in the 1970s, back when I could walk hand-in-hand with my mother to the A&P Grocery Store, regional farms supplied our tables and State Street bustled with culture and commerce. Yet as I came of age, I witnessed a steep decline.
When General Electric downsized and moved jobs away, Schenectady transformed from the prosperous “Electric City” into a post-industrial town struggling with population and tax base loss, poverty and crime. When I graduated from Union College, I became a “brain-drain” statistic – I was one of the many individuals raised and educated here who had to leave Schenectady to find economic opportunity. When I returned after my mother, Karen Johnson, a former Schenectady mayor, passed away, I came home to a city scarred by hardship but alive with renewal.
In my years away, I also saw how farming and food systems changed across New York. Family farms were pushed aside by an industrial model that hollowed out regional food networks and left many urban neighborhoods without reliable access to fresh, healthy food. Experts often call this a “food desert.” But we know better: it isn’t natural. It’s food apartheid — the result of deliberate choices and systems that cut off entire communities from what others take for granted.
Immediate Needs
Emergency food pantries help with immediate needs, but they are not a lasting solution. Much of what they distribute is surplus from an industrial food system that overproduces commodity crops and ultra-processed goods. These pantries often carry stigma, offer little choice and do not create lasting change. At best, they relieve pressure from a broken, profit-centered system rather than building food systems that support local and regional farmers and sustain resilient communities.
Here in Schenectady, that brokenness showed when the last full-service downtown grocery closed in 2001, forcing thousands of residents to rely on dollar stores, corner shops or long trips out of town, with the exception of the Price Chopper on Eastern Avenue near the eastern edge of the city. Even as theaters and restaurants revived downtown, the most basic need — access to food — remained unmet.
But Schenectady has never lost its cooperative spirit or creativity, as Betsy Sandberg’s recent article in this series demonstrated. In 2008, community leaders launched the Schenectady Greenmarket, which quickly became a vibrant hub of farmers and neighbors gathering every Sunday. Yet with only four hours a week of operation, food insecurity persisted.
So in 2013, residents took the next step, incorporating the Electric City Food Cooperative, Inc. Thanks to years of steady organizing, the co-op has secured more than $6.25 million in public investment. Now, with over 1,200 member-owners, local corporate sponsors, and partnerships with Metroplex, Cass Hill Development, the City of Schenectady, Schenectady County, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and United States Department of Agriculture, the Electric City Community Grocery is set to open in 2026 in the heart of downtown.
Food insecurity
This work doesn’t stand alone. Many groups have worked to make a meaningful difference in our community’s food insecurity. The Greenmarket, Sycamore Collaborative, Schenectady Urban Farms, Street Soldiers, Schenectady Shares, Bethesda House, the City Mission, SUNY Schenectady, Schenectady City School District and individual houses of faith have all worked to make a dent in this problem. In recognition of the common challenge, organizers started the Schenectady Food Council with support of the Schenectady Foundation. Together, we are building a food system rooted in sovereignty, not apartheid—a system where power and ownership live with the people.
Electric City Community Grocery
As president of the board of directors of the Electric City Community Grocery, I know our community-owned grocery store represents far more than fresh produce on shelves. It’s about reclaiming power for our community. It’s about weaving together farmers and families, rural and urban, history and future. It’s about having fun with a purpose while addressing a real harm to our community together. Power to our people in health and pride.
This cooperative spirit is nothing new. Schenectady’s greatest legacy has always been its people: creative, resilient and determined to work together. My mother believed in that legacy when she became the 100th member of the co-op. I carry it forward today, inspired by all those who have been building this movement with persistence, vision and love for our community.
When the Electric City Community Grocery opens, it will be more than a store. It will be a heartbeat of renewal — a gathering place that reflects the power of coming together as ONE Schenectady to Organize thriving communities, Nurture collective strengths and Empower inspiring change.
In time, I believe, this store will be remembered as a turning point: proof that Schenectady, true to its character, found a way to turn loss into renewal, and to feed its people through the power of cooperation and vision. And while the co-op is one important piece of this work, it is part of something even larger: a community that has always known our greatest resource is each other.
