What is a Working Group?
Working Groups serve as subcommittees, each focusing on a different topic within our food system. Each group is committed to advancing the goals of the SCFC aimed at fostering a more accessible and equitable food system in Schenectady County. Upholding the principle that community members are the experts on their own needs, the SCFC is dedicated to empowering them. If you live, work, or serve in Schenectady County we invite you to join a Working Group and contribute to positive change in our food system!
Working Groups
Access & Equity
The primary aim of this Working Group is to gather people with lived experience, diverse skills, expertise, and interests to address food access issues in Schenectady County. Central to our approach is prioritizing the voices and experiences of community members facing food access challenges. Their insights are crucial for shaping effective solutions. We actively engage with residents at local events, using a bottom-up approach that includes listening sessions, surveys, interviews, and stakeholder feedback to identify key issues and opportunities within the system.
2026 Priorities:
- Updating the Healthy and Equitable Food Action Plan: The Healthy and Equitable Food Action Plan, originally created in 2017, provides a detailed roadmap for improving food access, promoting equity, and building sustainable food systems in Schenectady County. Now, it’s time for a thorough review and update. This revision will incorporate new insights and address current challenges that have emerged since the plan’s inception. We will gather extensive community input and expert feedback to ensure the updated plan effectively meets today’s needs and supports a more inclusive and resilient food system.
Co-Chairs: Adine Viscusi; adine@casavisco.com and Heather Senecal; Heather@unitedwaygcr.org
This group meets via Zoom every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at 10 am
Advocacy & Empowerment
The Advocacy and Empowerment Working Group empowers all stakeholders in our local food system, with a focus on people with lived experience of nutrition insecurity, to engage in systems change at all levels of government to ensure Schenectady County residents have a consistent, reliable, and equitable access to sufficient amounts of healthy and culturally appropriate foods.
2026 Priorities:
- Focus organizing and advocacy efforts on the following three
priorities:- Fully Fund HPNAP & Nourish NY at 75 Million
- Raise the SNAP minimum to $100
- Pass the Good Food NY Bill
- Elevate competency, commitment, and consistency amongst local food system stakeholders.
- Grow our Working Group and raise general awareness about nutrition insecurity through regular Truth Commissions, days of action, and public communications.
Co-Chairs: Dustin Longmire; pastor@messiahschenectady.org & Linda Knipper; linda.montanaro@gmail.com
This group meets via Zoom every 1st and 3rd Wednesday at 1 pm
Roots to Resilience
The Roots & Resilience Working Group strengthens Schenectady County’s local food system by connecting residents to land, knowledge, and one another across rural, suburban, and urban growing spaces. We bring together residents, growers, and partners, including community-based and for-profit farmers, supporting land stewardship through sustainable agriculture and equitable access to locally grown food.
2026 Priorities:
- Advocacy and support of legislation to acquire vacant land.
- The Urban Farming Land Initiative Act aims to compel Land Banks to allocate a portion of their properties for urban farming initiatives. This addresses food security concerns and aligns with environmental and economic sustainability goals.
- Building strong connections with local farmers and food systems to encourage dynamic, sustainable growth practices in order to collectively heal and nourish our community through supporting and implementing local events and sustainable projects.
Chair: Ariel White; white.arielz@gmail.com & Hayden Schwartz; h.schwartz91@gmail.com
This group meets via Zoom every 1st and 3rd Thursday at 4:30 pm