1.What do you like about being part of the co-op community? 

I know that our co-op community really cares about the health and wellness of the youth and families of Schenectady, who we also serve through MDAM MSAM INC.  I love the fact that we’ll be bringing healthy food items and choices to our families who often don’t have access to them. 

The co-op team is simply amazing! It’s great being part of a group of people who live and work together uniting to create something for the greater good of our communities. I love the like-mindedness of having a heart for this city. 

After becoming a Member-Owner in July 2023, I really loved participating in the rebranding process beginning in October. As a person who puts the youth at the heart of everything I do, I was excited about the possibility of creating a look and feel for the co-op that would really bring the community in, starting with our youth.  I’m thrilled with where we arrived with the look and feel of our new logo.  

The bright, happy, big-hearted Beet at the center of the Electric City is so welcoming and energizing. The colors are fresh, fun and inviting - great for children and adults, too.  I know kids will love seeing the Electric Beet popping up all over their grocery - and on stickers all around town.

The new look makes it clear that our community-owned grocery will be the heart-beat of the Electric City!  Of course, I’m biased - you can tell from our logo for MDAM MSAM Inc that we’re all about coming from the heart!

2.What will having a downtown grocery mean to you?

Of course I’m thrilled that downtown Schenectady will have a grocery store again, for the first time in more than two decades. Access to healthy food is essential to healthy communities, and I love knowing that many youth will be able to walk or hop on a bus to reach the store. 

But even better, Electric City Community Grocery won’t just be a store - we’re creating a community hub, a center of community life. I look forward to partnering with our co-op through MDAM MSAM Inc to create new programs that educate and empower our youth about what healthy food means, how it works for the body.  We can host demonstrations about how kids can prepare healthy foods on their own - such as healthy snack time eating, veggies, fruits. Things they can do themselves right at home.

Just think - we can host programs at our co-op where kids get to learn hands-on about how to budget, read labels, and prepare healthy meals and snacks!  If we can reach the youth, there’s no doubt we can reach the family. When youth are part of the programs, siblings, parents, grandparents and neighbors are drawn in too.  Kids love food - and if we can introduce their palates to new foods that sustain them and help them thrive, we’ll create healthy communities for generations to come…  

3. What do you love about Schenectady?

Wow, I love so much about Schenectady!  

One of my favorite places in Schenectady is the Rose Garden in Central Park. Beauty and connection to nature nourish us, too. I love that I live in a community that knows that Bread and Roses nourish our hearts and bodies. 

Most of all, I love the spirit of Schenectady. The unity and diversity we have in our city is phenomenal. I’m so inspired by the way we work together for the greater cause of creating One Schenectady with vibrant neighborhoods where everyone can thrive and grow into their full potential. I know there are other places who claim to be the “Electric City” - but there is only One Schenectady in the whole world and the cooperative and creative spirit that flows through our home makes us the Electric City powered by the currencies of love!