The Joint Council for Economic Opportunity has launched a new project intended to provide fresh produce for local pantries in the Plattsburgh area.
A new greenhouse has been built behind the St. Joseph’s Outreach Center in the Town of Plattsburgh. A ribbon cutting was held recently to celebrate.
The project came about through a partnership with local advocates and Hydro-Quebec. The utility is working with Transmission Developers to build the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line from Quebec to New York City. Although the green power will not be delivered to communities along the route, Hydro-Quebec U.S. Chief Operating Officer Serge Abergel said the project would not be possible without support from communities along the route.
“And so we set out to become a community first partner, meaning that we try and bring value back to communities however we can all along this transmission line, which is 375 miles long,” explained Abergel. “And so we met with the Joint Council here and I’ve got to say we were very touched by what they’re doing here and their mission to provide services and provide value back to the folks that need it the most. And we just said how can we partner up with you guys and help as best we can? And we looked at different options and this came about to bring fresh produce back to communities. It doesn’t get better than that. We look forward to many years of this partnership.”
JCEO CEO Nicole Laurin says a number of groups are working together to get the newly grown food from the greenhouse to those in need.
“The produce that is grown here is going to go back into our food pantry, which is on the other side of this building, as well as the soup kitchen. But most importantly it’s going to serve the most vulnerable population in our community,” Laurin said. “Low-income individuals often have to make decisions about what’s going to make it into their grocery cart and fresh produce often does not. We have master gardeners with Cornell Cooperative Extension, some volunteers from Plattsburgh State, there are some veteran’s groups that are assisting us, Clinton County Youth Bureau, and the list goes on. They’ll be the ones in here growing and harvesting to get that produce back into our soup kitchen and our pantry.”
Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Tia Legge says they are working on what they will plant and how long they will be able to grow inside the greenhouse.
“Typically greenhouses like this are three season. But because it has the heating, we may be a little bit longer than that,” noted Legge. “Greenhouse like this can actually grow quite a bit if you are really creative and really smart. I’ve seen people grow fruit trees in these. This one is particularly short which means that the heat isn’t going to rise too high. So you actually should be able to get quite a bit in here: tomatoes, potatoes, carrots. You could start working into herbs: rosemary, thyme, lavender. All these sorts of things. The sky’s the limit.”
Democratic Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman noted that the greenhouse has been built in one of the region’s areas with the most food insecurity.
“The outreach center and the food shelf is in an economic social justice zone,” Cashman said. “We need to continue to destigmatize things as well. I think it’s critically important to note too many people think of food shelves during the holidays. Oh well, I’ll donate a can to our local food shelf. People are hungry 365 days a year folks. This outreach center is reaching into people’s homes and making sure that not only they have food, but they have good, nutritious food. And that’s why I really applaud them. So they will continue to grow not only in the greenhouse but we look forward to supporting them grow in their footprint as well.”
Hydro-Quebec has partnered with a number of communities along its route including funding an urban farming initiative in New York City and a clean clothing project for low-income students.
