Bringing a market day to Schenectady Group hopes Proctors could host Sunday venue for area farmers and crafters year-round
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
SCHENECTADY -- A small group is trying to bring a large year-round farmers market to Schenectady.
City Council member Barbara Blanchard and Dick Shave, a board member for the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, are trying to drum up interest in a Sunday market that would bring a large amount of local food producers and crafters to downtown Schenectady. Such an event would be separate from a smaller farmer's market that's held on Saturdays during the warmer months at City Hall. The interested group, called the Electric City Green Markets Development Committee, is hoping to gauge farmer interest in participating in such a market and get others interested in supporting it. Shave said that if vendors can be recruited, a market could start this fall. He said Proctors has agreed to hold a possible market in the atrium between The Mainstage and GE Theatre during the winter months. A possible outdoor venue could be in the parking lot behind Proctors, Shave said. "To do a destination market, you need a crowd. And what you need is a lot of vendors and a big opening. That means promotion money," Shave said, who hopes that grant money would be available to get a Schenectady market going. "We think a fall opening would work better than a spring opening," said Shave, who lives in Schenectady. "It highlights that we have a year-round venue, which is what it takes to have a market in the North." A group of 30 people, which included City Council president Peggy King, visited the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market March 8 to look at a market that has been successful. An organization called the Regional Farm and Food Project started the Troy market eight years ago, helping to pay for advertising and other startup costs. Vendors numbered only 20 or so at first, said Jennifer Felippe, current market manager. Now, the Troy market is its own corporation and hosts about 50 vendors every Saturday. "We're excited and hoping the market in Schenectady is successful," Felippe said.
This sounds like a good concept. It would certainly help the local venders in the area. However, they still have to clean up the city of it's crime before I would go there.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY Year-round farmers market being discussed for Proctors BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
In addition to matinee tickets, a city committee hopes that this November people will be able to buy locally grown produce, beef, poultry and dairy products at Proctors. The Schenectady Green Markets Development Committee wants to start a year-round farmers market at the theater. Organizing Chairman Richard Shave said Schenectady offi - cials looked to the success of the Troy Farmers Market for an example. “My friends got a little jealous of it because it runs year round and it’s something you want to go to once a week because it’s so fun,” he said. The committee is still working out the details but the plan calls for the market to be set up on Sundays at Robb Alley — the space next to the box office at Proctors. Hours would be something like 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In the spring, Shave said, the goal would be to move the market to outdoor venues such as Stratton Plaza behind Proctors or Jay Street. Shave said the time is ripe for a year-round farmers market. People are concerned about oil supply and want to build sustainable local economies by buying local products. The committee is targeting Nov. 2 for an opening. However, first they have to solicit enough farmers. It is sort of a chicken or the egg problem, Shave said. “They’re not going to sign up to come up to a market if there’s not a crowd and the crowd is not going to come unless there’s a market there.” Shave said it is unknown how much the Troy farmers market generates, but he said it is substantial for both the farmers and the local businesses who reap the spin-off effects. The Troy market is located at Hedley Park Place on River Street and runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, offering more than 50 food growers, bakers, chefs and artisans, according to its Web site. IN DISCUSSION Proctors Chief Executive Officer Philip Morris said he was talking to Shave about the success of the Troy market and said he would like to do something locally. He is familiar with Shave through some volunteer work he did on musical projects. “From Proctors point of view, the more people to come to downtown, the better,” he said. He said it fits in with the theater’s efforts to be as green as possible. Morris said the theater shows movies on Sunday, so there would be some overlap between that and the market, but he thinks they can make it work. City Councilwoman Barbara Blanchard said the current seasonal markets like the one on Thursdays in front of City Hall are well attended, but close in cold weather, so this is the next logical step. The Thursday market would still continue under this plan. Blanchard said she hopes that they would have about 30 farmers in the program. Committee members must visit farms before approving their participation in the market. She said the city selected Sunday because it did not want to compete directly with the Troy market and thought some of those vendors might be interested in Schenectady. Farmers interested in participating in this market can contact Shave at 542-5666.
people will be able to buy locally grown produce, beef, poultry and dairy products at Proctors.
The majority of the people go to Price Chopper. I say give it a whirl, but who will actually be drawn to the area? And will they have to pay a fee to Proctors? And who will pay for the permits? Basically...will this cost the taxpayers even more money? Price Chopper and Hannaford seem to do a good job at promoting local farmers with much success. But perhaps this may be another outlet for the farmers to make an even higher profit.
I know that it wouldn't be enough of a draw for me to drive down there. I'll go to Price Chopper or BJ's. But I would suggest that they have it on another day besides Sunday. The few that do work in that area will all be home. It should be during the week. Say from noon to 5pm. It would cover the lunch hours and the times when people get out of work.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Why would the planners locate this event in the Arts & Entertainment district? There are many other locations in the city that would, in my opinion, be more appropriate for such an event. What about holding the farmers' market in Central Park where there is easy access, abundant parking, and a setting with the aura of nature. This is yet another attempt to promote Proctors Theater and the "multi million dollar mile".
Why would the planners locate this event in the Arts & Entertainment district? There are many other locations in the city that would, in my opinion, be more appropriate for such an event. What about holding the farmers' market in Central Park where there is easy access, abundant parking, and a setting with the aura of nature. This is yet another attempt to promote Proctors Theater and the "multi million dollar mile".
I believe they will, and the reason they're having this in the "Arts & Entertainment district" is so that they can draw more people there, or at least let people know it's happening. Years ago, I remember that the farmers market was being held right on the side of City Hall, so it's not that far of a move.
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published in print: Friday, October 10, 2008
SCHENECTADY — Community members are planning to launch a year-round farmers market in the Proctors Arcade starting Sunday, Nov. 2.
Called the Schenectady Greenmarket, the weekly event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays at the Arcade, 432 State St.
The event is separate from a farmers market on Saturdays during the warmer months at Schenectady City Hall.
City Council member Barbara Blanchard and Dick Shave, a board member for the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, helped organize the community group interested in a year-round Schenectady market called the Electric City Green Markets Development Committee.
Organizers are seeking a few more vendors for the producer-only market. Vendors should offer one or more of the following products: vegetables, fruits, meats, honey, maple syrup, jams, milk, cheese, eggs, baked goods, bedding plants, flowers, wine, processed food (e.g., salsa, chutney), ready-to-eat prepared food and high-quality crafts.
The winter market will take place through April 26. Stall fees are $200 for the winter season, $120 for alternate Sundays, or $10 for a daily slot.
The summer market will take place outdoors behind the theater from May 3 to Oct. 25, 2009. Stall fees are $250 for the summer season, $140 for alternate Sundays, or a daily rate of $15.
Vendors interested in participating should contact Cheryl Nechamen at 346-4820 or cnechamen@msn.com.
EDITORIALS Now playing at Proctors: Sch’dy Greenmarket
Farmers markets have been cropping up all over the Capital Region in recent years, a very healthy development. And they are doing well, because for a growing number of people, they make so much sense. This is the perfect time to be launching a year-round one in Schenectady (starting Nov. 2), and we congratulate its organizers — the Electric City Green Markets Development Committee — not only for having this good idea, but for doing the spadework and bringing it to fruition. A big reason why these markets are thriving is that, with global warming and high fuel prices, people’s consciousness has been raised about the environmental and energy costs of transporting food great distances. They have also come to realize that food grown closer to home is likely to be fresher, healthier and better tasting; and that buying it from a farmer in their or a neighboring county can keep him in business and preserve the rural landscape. And they know that farmers markets can give a needed boost to urban neighborhoods, by bringing people and activity, especially on weekends, when there tends to be little of either. But there’s a difference between this new farmers market, called the Schenectady Greenmarket, and most of the others. This one won’t end in fall, but go year-round (the only other such markets in the area are in Troy and Saratoga). That means farmers will be offering more than the usual summer produce, but such things as meats, cheeses, breads, eggs, maple syrup and honey, as well as soups and stews, and non-food items like soaps, pottery and wool. Another difference is how this market was organized and will be managed. Unlike most others, which are put together and run by farmers, here the participants — there will be 15-plus — have been actively recruited by the community founders, with an eye toward quality and a requirement that everything sold be locally grown. The fall/winter place, Proctors’ Robb Alley, seems like a winner: People, including suburbanites, know where Proctors is and feel comfortable going there. The time and day, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, could be a problem if too many people decide to sleep in or go to church and skip the market. But it could also provide Schenectady with its own niche, attracting those who can’t, or don’t want to, shop on Saturday, or who would go to Troy, Saratoga or the Upper Union Street farmers market (in-season) instead. Besides, the organizers had no choice: Proctors already had the space booked and couldn’t make it available this fi rst year. So, Sunday it is —at least for now. Why not make it work?
SCHENECTADY Farmers market opening crowded Indoor session for winter draws community BY JESSICA HARDING Gazette Reporter
Carol Packard, of Duanesburg, pushed through the crowd Sunday at Proctors' Robb Alley with three bags full of food, including a processed, ready-to-cook guinea fowl, which she said she has never tried. Packard was one of hundreds of people who jammed into Robb Alley Sunday purchasing local produce, meats, baked goods and wine during opening day of the year-round farmer's market, sponsored by local nonprofit Schenectady Greenmarket. Both floors of Robb Alley were lined with merchants selling everything from heads of lettuce, meats and potatoes to organic peanut butter, jams, breads and jewelry. While there are several farmer's markets throughout Schenectady County during the summer, Schenectady Greenmarket, a non-profit organization, wanted to give residents the opportunity to buy local products year-round. Schenectady Greenmarket vice-president Barbara Blanchard said the 17-member organization has been meeting weekly since February to put the event together and has over 20 local merchants and farmers registered to sell their goods each week. Packard said she decided to attend the farmers market, not only for the food, but because it was at Proctors. “Proctors has become more than the heart of Schenectady and I support it completely,” she said. “This is good for the local community. The food is just a piece of it.” Packard's guinea fowl came from Phil Metzger, owner of Cooper's Ark Farm in Schoharie. Metzger, who was also selling ducks and fresh eggs in recycled cartons, said he has been selling his products throughout the region to health food stores and restaurants that sell local food such as Church and Main in Canajoharie. Metzger said opening day of the farmers market was “overwhelming,” but he expected it. Tom Maynard, owner of Maynard Farms in Ulster Park, hadn't expected the large turnout Sunday. He said he was nervous about driving an hour and a half for a new market. “I was scared to death,” he said, as customers lined up to purchase his produce. “New markets are very hard.” Maynard said he has been participating in farmers markets since 1990, but this was the “best fi rst day reception” he's seen. Frank Johnson of Sweet Tree Farm in Carlisle, who was selling grass fed beef, pasteurized pork and poultry, also wasn't expecting the crowd. “If it keeps up like this I'm going to have to bring more stuff,” he said. Johnson wasn't the only merchant selling out Sunday. Cindy Barber, of Barber's Farm in Middleburgh, had run out of heads of lettuce and had to send out for more. Barber said she had never sold her produce at a winter market before. She typically sells from her farm and has recently set up a truck stand in Guilderland and Delmar. Barber said she'll be able to sell her produce through Thanksgiving, including root vegetables like squash and potatoes and cold crops like broccoli and cauliflower. Besides the shopping Sunday people were seen chatting with the neighbors and friends, and listening to live music with their children. “This is a community gathering, you meet your friends here,” Blanchard said as she waved to Gerald Plante, a friend. Plante, a Stockade resident, said he was told that opening day of the farmer's market would be an exciting event, so he came down to check it out. “I'm going to come over here every Sunday,” he said. Schenectady's Greenmarket is scheduled for every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Proctors' Robb Alley.
MARC SCHULTZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Michelle Petuske, right, of Pixie’s Preserves at the Petuske Produce Farm in Waterford-Halfmoon, shows customers Sarah Curcio, Donna Rapp, Mia Curcio and grandfather Bruce Rapp, her preserves, jellies and jams at the Schenectady Greenmarket in Robb Alley Sunday.
Wow, it looks like there’s really a market for the new year-round Schenectady Greenmarket! Its debut Sunday, in Walter Robb Alley at Proctors, was a success by any measure, bringing big crowds for the entire 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. period — to look, taste and buy the variety of locally grown food and locally made products. The organizers (who did a great job planning, recruiting farmers and publicizing the event), the participants and shoppers themselves were surprised and delighted by the turnout and enthusiasm. A growing number of people in Schenectady and elsewhere are starting not only to appreciate the nutritional value and good taste of fresh food, but to make the connection between mass production agriculture and fuel use and environmental destruction. Running farm machinery, using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, processing and packing, and transporting foods over thousands of miles accounts for nearly 20 percent of the country’s fossil fuel use. And all that fuel burning, with the resultant carbon emissions, is the single biggest contributor to climate change. Says food industry expert and critic Michael Pollan, author of “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma, “We are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases.” . . . We’re creating a grim health future of cheapcalorie diets [processed food based on high-fructose corn syrup] and triggering fast-rising Type 2 diabetes and threatening millions with blindness, amputation and early death.” Mass-produced food may seem cheap, but we are paying for it in ways we are only now beginning to understood. In a piece in the Oct. 12 New York Times Magazine, “Farmer in Chief,” Pollan calls on whichever man we elect as president today to recognize the central importance of farming, and the reformation of our nation’s food system, to our society, economy and environment. Let the president turn a stretch of White House lawn into a small organic fruit and vegetable garden — and even to weed it now and then, Pollan says. Let him appoint a White House chef who believes in preparing locally grown meals. Let him inspire a movement back to greater local food self-sufficiency. It’s not all about symbolism, either. Pollan also suggests practical steps the federal government can take to encourage this movement, such as food stamp debit cards that give double credit at farmer’s markets, subsidies for local fresh food distribution networks, and grants for year-round green markets like Schenectady’s. The nation needs many more of them.
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