Section I Introduction and Overview (Copy)
Question: How will ECCG build long term food system resiliency
1. Please provide a background of your organization which demonstrates commitment to building long term food system resiliency.
Answer:
The City of Schenectady, as applicant, will subcontract for implementation of the proposed project with the Electric City Community Grocery (ECCG). With the support of the City, ECCG Member-Owners and community partners are working to open a food cooperative in downtown Schenectady, NY to connect neighbors, farmers, and food producers in the Capital Region, the Mohawk Valley, and beyond. ECCGis a community of 1,120+ Member-Owners united with a commitment to provide nourishing food options for our diverse community, expand meaningful employment, and partner with local farmers/producers to build a more resilient food economy.
Downtown Schenectady has not had a grocery store since 2001, and private groceries in the area have not reliably supported local farmers. Responding to these challenges, Schenectadians and regional farmers began the Schenectady Greenmarket outside City Hall in 2008. By 2011, people across the region were willing to go the extra mile for local food, and vendors came reliably to meet that demand. Downtown businesses benefited from new visitors, and many farmers even donated food to shelters and pantries. The only problem was that it is only open 4 hours a week.
In 2013, community members founded the cooperative to build long-term food system resilience, address food insecurity in Schenectady, and bolster the regional economy through cooperative, community-centered economic development.
Since then, the co-op’s mission has been reinforced by studies showing the need for a downtown grocery store to balance Schenectady’s retail mix and enhance local economic vitality. The ECCG will open in 2026 at 251 State Street, strategically located for access by residents, regional farmers, and suppliers. Positioned in a walkable, transit-friendly area with ample parking, this community-focused grocery store will serve as a vital hub, ensuring fair access to locally sourced goods and reinforcing a resilient food system that benefits everyone.
Question: How will ECCG serve underserved communities?
2. Provide a clear, concise description of project including how retail food businesses in the region face challenges in serving underserved communities and how the proposed project addresses those problems?
Answer:
Opening a successful grocery store is a challenge, particularly in the middle of a small city. Minimum parking requirements and low per capita income prevent chain (for profit) grocery stores from entering markets like downtown Schenectady. The greater Schenectady area has lost 6 grocery stores in the last ten years. Despite recent reinvestment in downtown Schenectady, many neighborhoods remain designated as low-income, low-access areas by the USDA. 23.6% of households in the proposed project location lack vehicles and are over half a mile from the nearest grocery store.
As a community-owned co-op, ECCG offers a sustainable alternative to for-profit grocery stores. ECCG can operate at lower margins than traditional supermarkets, thanks to member support and customer loyalty. ECCG plans to offer both natural and conventional food options at fair prices, tapping into the buying power of National Cooperative Grocers (NCG) and incorporating SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks to enhance affordability. This hybrid approach will provide residents with diverse food choices, while reinvesting profits back into the community.
ECCG’s future site at 251 State Street will offer local residents a convenient source of affordable, nutritious food. The site is less than a mile (a 9 minute bus ride) from the Sycamore Collaborative Food Pantry, which serves 600,000+ meals each year to residents experiencing food insecurity. The site is accessible to several senior housing facilities, public housing, market-rate apartments, local institutions, and 10 bus routes making it an ideal location to bridge food access gaps and support diverse downtown neighborhoods.
The recent influx of middle-income residents attracted by living in a diverse, walkable urban neighborhood contributes to the financial viability of opening a hybrid downtown grocery store. ECCG will support farmers/producers, strengthen the local food system and create a gathering place for residents across socioeconomic backgrounds.
Question: How will ECCG build long term food system resiliency
3: Description of Retail Store + Operation & Management Plan
Answer:
Summary Description
The Electric City Community Grocery will be located in the heart of Downtown Schenectady, with 52 parking spots easily accessible from the high-traffic intersection of Erie and State Street, minutes from highway 890. It is just 0.2 miles from the Capital Region’s first mobility hub, with access to 10 bus lines on Schenectady’s main commercial corridor in a walkable, mixed-use, neighborhood with relatively high residential density. At this community-owned grocery store, anyone can become a Member-Owner and everyone can shop, from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.
The store will prioritize staple grocery items, fresh produce, dairy, and meat, sourced locally or regionally whenever possible, with an emphasis on products that are minimally processed, minimally packaged, not harmful to the environment, and of the highest quality possible, at a fair price. Historically, many food cooperatives have focused primarily on natural and organic goods, pricing many customers out of shopping at the store. The Electric City Community Grocery will take a blended approach, featuring clean conventional products with just as much enthusiasm, focused keenly on affordability, accessibility, and supporting local—following the path being forged by new-wave cooperatives all across the country, like the Detroit People’s Food Co-op in Michigan, Gem City Market in Dayton, Ohio, and Community Co-op Market in Tallahassee, Florida.
Customers entering the store will be greeted by:
An unbeatable selection of fresh and vibrant local, conventionally and organically grown fruits and vegetables.
Six bustling grocery aisles filled to the brim with competitively priced goods, running the full spectrum of clean, conventional, natural, and organic, with the most prominent display spaces prioritizing goods that are local and/or most affordable.
Over 36 feet of unpackaged “bulk” goods, where customers can buy as much as they want, or as little as they need. From rice and grains to granola, coffee beans, herbs and spices, even local maple syrup on tap, customers save money by not paying for packaging, and can also choose to save the environment by bringing their own reusable jars to refill when they shop.
Twelve fully-stocked doors of refrigerated products, including local milk, eggs, cheeses, yogurt, kombucha, and so much more.
Twelve fully-stocked doors of frozen staples, including local ice cream, frozen fruits and vegetables, quick meal solutions, frozen novelties, and more.
A vibrant indoor and outdoor floral and plants department, with floral bouquets, house plants, and seasonal garden supplies, soil, seeds, and seedlings.
An exciting assortment of local beer and cider, with Capital Region favorites front and center.
Co+op Basics, the cooperative’s flagship everyday low price program, will feature 200+ key pantry staple products priced below comparable products at other grocery stores. The co-op will accept SNAP, WIC, and Double Up Food Bucks. Customers using a SNAP/EBT card to participate in Double Up Food Bucks at the co-op will earn $1 for every $1 spent on fresh produce at the co-op, up to $20, every single day. The dollars earned can be redeemed on their next trip to the co-op to purchase more local and regional produce.
Anyone will be able to shop at ECCG, and everyone can become a Member-Owner for a one-time fee of $25. Solidarity shares are available through our Solidarity Initiative. Member-ownership empowers community members to serve in cooperative governance, take part in special member-only deals throughout the year, and receive patronage dividends based upon how much you purchase at the co-op each year.
Operational Hours
Operationally, each day will begin between 5am and 7am, with trucks arriving at the loading dock to be received, products stocked, the store conditioned, and other preparation to open the store to the public at 8am. Peak shopping times will be weekends, and weekdays between the hours of 11:30am - 1:30pm, and 4:30pm - 6:30pm. The store will close at 8pm each evening, and staff will complete closing tasks by 9pm. With these hours in mind, the grocery will be in operation for 105 hours each week. The staffing plan below outlines key roles and responsibilities that the co-op’s employees will fulfill during these 105 hours.
Staffing Plan
As is typical of a cooperative grocery, the General Manager (GM) is ultimately responsible for store operations and the customer experience, including marketing, finance, information technology, and human resources. The GM hires and leads a team of twenty employees, or the equivalent of fourteen full-time positions, totaling 550 weekly labor hours (27.5% of sales in year one). The GM reports directly to the Board of Directors, elected annually by the co-op’s Member-Owners. Board members serve staggered three year terms to ensure continuity. The GM is held accountable by the Board of Directors, primarily through monthly meetings and annual performance evaluations.
The grocery will budget for personnel expenses of 27.5% of sales in year one, which is the industry standard for similarly-sized food cooperatives, with a plan in place to reach 24% as store operations mature by year three. We will open the store with the following positions in place:
General Manager (GM)
40 hours per week
Ultimately accountable for all store operations and the customer experience, including marketing, finance, information technology, and Human Resources.
Serves as the public-facing spokesperson and representative of the co-op, in collaboration with the Board President.
Accountable for developing and adhering to an annual budget, which will be approved by the Board of Directors and voted on by the membership each year.
Collaborates with the Board of Directors to maintain a one, three, and five year strategic plan for the organization, updated annually as part of the annual budget development process.
Responsible for operationalizing the annual strategic plan and budget.
Manages external contracted professional services including, but not limited to:
National Co+op Grocers
(local social, web, digital, and print media on contract)
Finance (through Columinate Financial Services)
Legal as needed
Assistant General Manager (AGM) or Operations Manager
40 hours per week
The AGM works hand-in-hand with the GM, directly managing most of the day-to-day operations of the store
Develops and maintains the weekly store staffing schedule, adhering to the labor budget developed with GM.
Directly supervises associate-level staff.
Serves as the lead buyer and the primary contact at the cooperative for local vendors, farmers, producers in all departments except for the Produce and Plants Department.
Bookkeeper/Human Resources Administrator
40 hours per week
A significant portion of the grocery’s bookkeeping and higher-level finance tasks will be outsourced through partnership with National Co+op Grocers and Columinate Financial Services.
This role is largely focused on accounts payable and receivable, entering and processing invoices, cutting checks, managing payroll, and supporting the General Manager with day-to-day HR functions.
IT/Data Integrity Manager
40 hours per week
Manages the co-op’s point-of-sale system
Maintains the integrity of the organization’s technological infrastructure and data, including but not limited to: routine item cost updates, retail price updates, sale prices, and owner data via CRM system.
Produce and Plants Department Manager
40 hours per week
Produce and Plants Department Associate
40 hours per week
Four Front-End Staff (Cashiers or “Changemakers” and Customer Experience Leads)
116 hours per week total, blended full-time and part-time positions
Four associate-level positions primarily focused stocking, conditioning, and customer service in the grocery, refrigerated, frozen, bulk, wellness, and meat sub departments.
124 hours per week total, blended full-time and part-time positions
Two associate positions primarily focused on in-house prepared foods, including coffee, housemade soup and sandwiches (all prepackaged, no made-to-order service), and grab-and-go salads.
80 hours per week total
Customer Base
In its first year of operation, the store will serve about 1,600 unique customers each week conducting 2,000 weekly transactions, at an average basket size of $40. The store will serve a moderately large trade area (in terms of geography), extending as far as 12 straight-line miles to the north; between 2 and 4 straight-line miles to the south up to the Schenectady-Albany County line; and approximately 7 straight-line miles to the west. The Mohawk River and Schenectady-Saratoga County line delineate the eastern trade area boundary.
