A retired microbiologist is taking a macro look at a global problem and applying the solution to a brand new Downtown Schenectady.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 23 million Americans live in environments devoid of healthy food.
These food deserts, as they have been named, are as likely to occur in urban areas as they are in rural ones. The definition applies to communities without supermarkets or grocery stores. So, despite the plethora of fast food chains in town, this still leaves residents without fresh, healthy and affordable food. Pockets of the Capital District, including North Albany, South End, South Troy, Renssealer and portions of Schenectady, fall under this definition according to USDA data.
“So, now we’re moving all these apartments, we want people to live here,” said Katherine Wolfram, president of the Electric City Food Cooperative, Inc. “They can come down here, to live here and to work, for entertainment, for restaurants, but they have to leave Schenectady for food, which is a basic need.”
Wolfram’s idea is just that, an idea. The coop has no store front, and no produce to sell. Not yet. But, in a relatively short amount of time, the corporation has earned the respect and support of some of the most influential members in town.
“She’s been working really hard for a long time, taking an entrepreneur’s approach to the co-op business,” said Charles Steiner, president and CEO of The Chamber of Schenectady County. Community leaders such as Steiner see the benefits of the proposed community-owned market to the region as a whole. Of course, the focus of bringing a food co-op draws potential consumers back to Schenectady, and, “the co-op is investing in their community,” said Steiner.
Since establishing the business plan, Wolfram describes a cosmic chain of events that helped introduce Electric City Food Cooperative Inc. to the Mallozzi family, “I took them over to Honest Weight in Albany, so they could see what I was talking about; how busy, how active, how engaged people were. They saw the bulk foods, the meats, [and] the fresh produce,” she said.
On Tuesday, April 7, Johnny’s Restaurant will host a membership drive for the co-op from 5 to 7 p.m. Wolfram said the evening is focused on educating people.
“The common question is, ‘Why would you start a co-op instead of a regular a market?’,” said Wolfram. “I thought if this was something that could be supported by the community, it will live. It will exist for a long time. If it’s [only] something that Katherine wants to do, it may not survive.”
A food cooperative is a mutually-owned market, where the members who shop their own a stake in the business. Members also have a say in what produce is sold in the market, which is often food obtained through local farmers. Other food not native to the area are obtained through fair trade, said Wolfram.
The concept has grown in popularity in recent years, through the collective movement of a more environmentally conscious consumer. Locally grown food appeals to consumers concerned with carbon emissions otherwise expelled from transporting produce from other areas of the country, or globe. While bulk foods encourage shoppers to bring their own containers from home, promoting recycling and reducing waste from discarded packages. Organic foods may also be available, said Wolfram, which is food produced without the aid of pesticides, growth hormones or other agents.
The 60-year-old Wolfram is no stranger to fresh food. As a child growing up in the Carolinas, her family owned a farm with 250 dairy cows, chickens and food available off the land. In time, she moved on and became a molecular biologist. Away from the farm, she bought her food from the supermarket. When she lost her job about five years ago, like most Americans at the time, she had difficulty finding a job in her field. No one was hiring “grandma” for an entry-level position, she said.
“When I lost my job I wanted to start a business,” said Wolfram. “We don’t have a natural food store here [in Schenectady], and I saw that Amsterdam has one. I thought ‘That was it’. That was it for me. That gave me what I wanted to do.”
In 2011, Wolfram attended an entrepreneurial boot camp organized by the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce. It’s a 12-week program that guides people through the process of starting and managing a business. Wolfram earned her certificate, and plotted out the first steps to a corporation that now has more than 100 individuals, either holding positions within the organization or committed to earning a share in the co-op.
“[I] developed a survey and sent it around to everyone I knew, and asked them to send it around to everyone they knew,” said Wolfram. “And, in a year’s time I had 466 people who responded, and 261 of those said they would be likely to join. So, that gave me enough reason to keep going. So I pursued it.”
Through the assistance of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Wolfram arranged a meeting with the community, and from there a steering committee formed in 2012. They met a couple of times a month, researched a number of different aspects on co-ops and foods, and developed by-laws. Two years after receiving her entrepreneurial boot camp certificate, she was filing letters of incorporation.
Dozens of community leaders aided in the creation of Electric City Cooperative Inc., said Wolfram, including other food co-ops throughout the region. “The idea here is we are stronger together,” she said. “A good experience at one co-op leads people to shop preferentially at co-ops.” Mohawk Harvest (in Gloversville), Honest Weight (in Albany), Niskayuna Co-Op and Schenectady Greenmarket have all helped as mentors and for providing connections to local farmers.
Establishing a store front downtown will set Electric City apart from contemporaries often located in suburban locations. Parking may be a challenge, said Wolfram, which hindered a similar project from thriving in Troy. But, she said, her organization has looked at areas where they can avoid such a pitfall. Once the co-op garners approximately 400 members, Wolfram said they start focusing on a place to call home.
Just another step towards making another dream come to life in the Electric City.
“Neighborhood revitalization requires bringing affordable housing and healthy food to neighborhoods,” said Wolfram. “We want to be part of that progress towards revitalization.”