This is what’s fresh at Electric City!

This is where we’ll keep you up-to-date with what’s happening,upcoming events, announcements, who’s talking about what, and how you can get involved. Got questions, issues or something you want to know more about - reach out!

Featured News:

In the News! Schenectady food co-op aims to end downtown food desert by 2026

Check in with our Dream Team Campaign!

Here the latest from our Site Committee

Signs have gone up in our future site!

Upcoming Events:

Featured
Schenectady Greenmarket @ Proctors
Mar 30
Schenectady Greenmarket @ Proctors
Schenectady Greenmarket @ Proctors
May 4
Schenectady Greenmarket @ Proctors

Member-Owner of the Month:

Karen Radley

This month we're delighted to shine the Spotlight on Karen Radley (MO#235, and past co-op Board Member), as we shower her with gratitude for leading yesterday's deeply grounding and inspiring Slow Flow Yoga Co-op Fundraiser.

Karen can be found most days on the mat or in the chair teaching a yoga class. She became a teacher 10 years ago after experiencing the life altering benefits of yoga. Regardless of the type of yoga she’s teaching, all her classes focus on the connection of mind, body, and spirit as a path to overall well-being. Karen currently offers classes at Inner Bliss, Armory Studios NY, and the continuing education program through Schenectady City School District. 

Investing in Resilience:
Slow Money & the Enduring Legacy of Black Food Co-ops


What if slow growth is good growth?

What if the currency of love is focused attention
and intentional action?


In a world where speed often defines success, it can be easy to forget that the strongest roots take time to establish. One of the frequent questions we are asked on our social media pages is “Seems like you’ve been doing this for ten years and still haven’t opened a grocery store - why should I get involved?” 

Here at theElectric City Community Grocery, we understand that the cooperative model is built on patience, trust, and deep community investment. While it may take years—even a decade—for some food co-ops to open, once they do, thesecommunity-driven businesses tend to have greater staying power. Not only are food cooperatives more likely to endure,research shows they have greater positive impacts on their communitiesand experience shows they aremore resilient in the face of disaster. This is especially true forBlack food co-ops, which have – and continue to be – powerful forces for economic justice, food sovereignty, and cultural resilience. 

Building on the co-op love unleashed from Karen Radley’s Slow Flow Yoga class and in celebration of Black History Month and Valentine’s Day, in this month’s Food For Thought, we explore the power and potential of slow growth and people power, drawing inspiration from the Slow Money movement of Black food co-ops in the past, present, and emerging future.
 

Celebrating the Power of
Slow Flow & Slow Money

What do “Slow Flow Yoga” and the “Slow Food” and “Slow Money” movements have in common? All harness the power of focused attention and mindful movement, starting at home and rippling out.  

The Slow Money movement asks, “In a world that is heating up and speeding up, is there anything more important than fixing things from the ground up?”  

Of course, this is a rhetorical question for the Slow Money Institute.  Their resounding answer is that in these times of crisis, it is urgent that we slow down and “bring money back down to earth.”

Rejecting bitcoin in favor of “Beet-coin” investments that generate community-rooted health and wealth by "supporting organic farms, local food systems and an economy of health and peace.”

Leaders of the Slow Money movement “believe that building robust local food systems acts as a seed of change, addressing our era's most daunting challenges—climate change, health, community resilience.”

They offer 6 Slow Money Principles that resonate with our cooperative principles, including principle 4: “We must learn to invest as if food, farms and fertility mattered; We must connect investors to the places where they live, creating healthy relationships and new sources of capital for small food enterprises.”  We have certainly been practicing this principle over the past two months through our successful Dream Team Fund campaign!

Although these slow flow principles are counter-cultural in modern America, they are nothing new. Not only do they resonate with our cooperative principles, they are deeply rooted in many cultures, and poignantly reflected by the African saying, “the times are urgent; let us slow down.”  Today, we have much to learn from the past, present, and emerging future of African American cooperative economic thought and practice. 

Celebrating the Evolving
Legacy of Black Food Co-ops

Across the country, Black-led food co-ops are reclaiming agency over food systems, creating jobs, nourishing families, and revitalizing neighborhoods. These co-ops are not just looking to the past for inspiration—they are forging new models of ownership and sustainability for the future. From urban farming cooperatives that prioritize soil health and fair wages to community-owned grocery stores that offer fresh, affordable food in historically underserved areas, the cooperative movement is growing stronger every day.

Here are some references and examples of Black food co-ops across different time periods:

The Colored Farmers’ National Alliance and Cooperative Union (1886-1891) was one of the earliest Black cooperative movements, helping Black farmers pool resources and resist exploitative credit systems.

  • In the mid-20th century, the Freedom Food Cooperative (founded by Fannie Lou Hamer) nourished and propelled the Civil Rights Movement, supporting Black economic empowerment through collective food ownership.

Present


Emerging Future:

Moving forward in solidarity and cooperation 

As Member-Owners and allies of the Electric City Community Grocery, we are part of this larger movement—a third wave of food cooperatives that prioritize equity, regenerative food systems, and community resilience. We are building a future where food is not just a commodity but a tool for social transformation. Our participation, whether through shopping, volunteering, or advocating for food justice, connects us to this national and global push toward a more just, resilient, and regenerative food economy.

So let’s take heart in the knowledge that slow and steady growth leads to lasting change. Let’s continue to support cooperative businesses, invest in food sovereignty, and stand in solidarity with those working to reshape our food systems for the better. Because when we move at the speed of trust, we build something that endures.

Consistent with the principles of Slow Money, Black food co-ops and collectives are accessing patient capital that aligns with their values, ensuring they are not forced into unsustainable growth or extractive financial models. Instead, they are investing in infrastructure, land, and long-term stability. And when these co-ops succeed, they create ripples of impact that benefit entire communities.

These cooperative and collective efforts reflect a broader movement for Black food justice and sovereignty, resonant with the principles of Slow Money and community resilience.  This larger movement is about more than just food—it’s about equity, regenerative vitality, and self-determination. 

Check out some of our featured recipes!

Pork, Sage & Apricot Mini-Pies

Pyre Huchison

Broccoli and Feta Frittata

Elizabeth Walsh

Earl Grey Cream Pie

Henry Moore

Get The Beet or explore issues from previous months: