TROY — Inflation has hit the Capital Roots community garden program, with the cost of a plot rising from $30 to $45 this year.
“It’s not something we do frequently and it’s still a very low cost for everything that is provided,” Capital Roots CEO Amy Klein said of the increase, which takes effect for this spring’s planting season.
She said it is the third increase they’ve had in the 26 years that she has been with the not-for-profit organization.
The organization operates 55 gardens in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties. Gardeners can tend individual plots to grow flowers or vegetables. They have about 1,000 participants in the program, and there is dispensation for those who can’t pay the annual membership, said Klein.
She said it costs about $250 to actually manage each plot, considering the personnel and infrastructure they provide.
Capital Roots also operates the Veggie Mobile, which brings fresh produce and other healthy foods to neighborhoods that are lacking outlets for such food as well as a food donation program. They also work with local farmers to bring fresh produce into the community.
Not everyone was thrilled with the price hike.
“All it really said was that it was due to the rising cost of everything,” remarked Elizabeth John, who like other members got news of the increase in an email.
She’s been a member for six years, tending a plot in Troy and Albany and was planning to sign up again despite the increase.
Capital Roots has been in talks since the summer with the SEIU Local 200 labor union following a union drive in 2022. Most of the organization’s approximately 20 workers supported the union, citing the need for higher pay amid rising living costs.
Capital Roots recognized the union later in the summer, but they are…
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