Governor Hochul today announced a Food Access Expansion Grant worth $2.1 million for Schenectady, the 2nd largest grant awarded statewide.
“We’re grateful to Governor Hochul and the Department of Agriculture and Markets for supporting efforts to expand access to healthy food,” said Gary Hughes, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “This funding moves us closer to opening a community-owned grocery store in Downtown Schenectady. Together with the $3 million committed by the County Legislature, it marks a significant step toward making this long-standing vision a reality.”
Mayor Gary McCarthy said, “We are very thankful to Governor Kathy Hochul for providing a huge boost to our efforts to launch the new food co-op by providing this State grant. This is a pivotal step forward for our efforts to establish a new grocery store downtown.”
Eric Johnson, President of the Electric City Community Grocery said, “We are thrilled to have the support of Governor Hochul and the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets for our new downtown store. On behalf of our 1,200 plus members and all the organizations who support this effort, this grant is exactly what we needed as we push forward to sign a final lease and open the store. We are thankful to Metroplex, and their grant writing team led by Sue Lombardi, for helping us to complete and submit a winning application. Demonstrating strong support from the City and County was crucial to winning this funding. Together, the wind is truly in our sails.”
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