a food co-op · 2019. 3. 8. · why schenectady? the electric city food co-op is organizing to...

OurPartnershipfortheFuture

Acrossthenationandaroundtheglobe,liveshavebeenupendedbyCOVID-19.

Completeindustriesweredecimatedandsomewillnotreturn.Moreover,COVIDlaidbaremanyunderlyingissuesinourcurrentfoodsystem--thesameproblemswehadsetouttosolve.

ManyQuestionsRemainUnansweredWhatwilltheretaillandscapelooklike?Whatisthefutureforsupermarkets?Howwillpeopleshopforfood?

InSchenectady,momentumforourCo-opwaspeaking.WewereinthemiddleofsiteselectionwhenCOVIDchangedourlives.Infact,March15wastheproposedannouncementforoursite!

Allorganizationsmustnowrethink,retoolandrealigntoournewreality.Asweprepareforanuncertainfuture,twothingsareclear:1.OurMissionisUnchanged

Wehaveundertakenthegoalofbringingafull-servicegrocerystoretoDowntownSchenectadyandweremainutterlycommittedtothatgoal.

2.OurCommunityStillNeedsUs

Intoday’suncertainretailenvironment,accesstoathrivinglocalfoodeconomyisvital.

LocalMatters.NowMoreThanEver.Keepingthesupplychainshorterbyrelayingonlocallygrownfoodandproductsensuresaccessandkeepsmoneyinthelocaleconomy.

So...HowcantheCo-opbetheconnectivetissueofourcommunity?Howcanwebetterengagewithlocalfarmsandproducers?Howdoweprovideethical,sustainableandtransparentbusinesspractices?

thatbringsustoour

OurExcitingNewChapter

InthefaceofCOVID,wemustworktogetherandwemustberesilient.

Wemustembraceonlinetechnologyandnewvocabularylikecurbsidepickupandtouchlessretail.

TheElectricCityFoodCo-opwillpivot,toexploreavirtualoronlineexistenceasabridgetooureventualbrickandmortarlocation.

TheECFCisworkingwithgroundbreakingtechnologycompanieswhoaresuccessfullyconnectinggrowersandmakersdirecttothecustomerinanonlineformat.

Weenvisionasmallerfootprintorpop-upsiteswithinDowntownwhereordersareplacedonline,aggregatedbytheCo-opandexecutedwithatouch-freecurbsidepickup.

Thecommunityiscallingforasolution.ThepeopleofDowntownSchenectadyneedthisKitchenTableoftheCommunity.

TheDowntownRevitalizationInitiative(DRI)showedoverwhelmingpublicsupportfortheCo-op.CommunityPartnersarehelpingbuildcollaborationsowecanconnectgrowersandcreatorstotheendconsumer.

Ourpartnersarecrucial.Wehavebeenforgingrelationshipswithinthecommunityandcreatingcollaborationswithkeycommunitypillarsalongwithmanybusinessownerswithdeeptiestothecommunity.

Westillcan’twaittoopenabrickandmortarstoreinthefuture.Butintheinterim,weareaskingmember-owners:IfweexploreanonlineorvirtualCo-op,wouldyousupportit?Wouldthissolveanyproblemsforyou?Wouldyoushopforlocallygrownandmadethingsonline?

NextSteps

WewillreachasmanyMember-Ownersaspossibleinthecomingweeks.

Wewanttohearfromyou!Wewillcommunicateinavarietyofways:email,phone,ZoomandarecordedQ&Asession.

WewanttotalkaboutwhatthisCo-opversionwouldlooklike.Wewilltalktoourpartnersinthecommunityandfindlocationsthatwork.Thenwe’llaskmember-ownerstoVOTE.WeallareownersinthisvisionoftheCo-Op.

WecannotwaituntiltheCo-opopensinitsforeverhomeandwelookforwardtorunningintofriendsandsupportersineveryaisle.Untilthen,westillwanttohelpbringhealthy,localfoodtoDowntownSchenectady.

Withyoursupportandideas,wecan.