\u201cIt\u2019s considered crucial for farms to see profit [while] getting away from subsidization and monoculture,\u201d Breen says. \u201cBut only 4% of farms in Pennsylvania are making value-added products.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disconnect inspired Breen to create Zeromile<\/a>, a dual food cooperative for both buyers and food producers. Zeromile \u2014 described on its website as \u201can old idea made new\u201d \u2014 combines a retail food market for buyers (comparable to the East End Food Co-op or a year-round farmer\u2019s market) with a small-scale production facility for farmers and food artisans.<\/p>\n Breen envisions it \u201cproviding a low-barrier spot for farmers to create value-added products.\u201d<\/p>\n In Zeromile\u2019s model, local farmers and food producers would buy into the workers\u2019 cooperative, gaining access to a commercial kitchen and dedicated storefront to sell their wares, while buyer-members shop local, farm-fresh food at reduced prices. In addition to a commercial kitchen and co-packing facility, the project would also function as community hub with retail and event space \u2014 including a possible grab-and-go window, dining area, and movie nights \u2014 all under one roof.<\/p>\n The concept comes with a myriad of benefits, Breen says, including connecting the local food system to farmers and artisans, increasing neighborhoods\u2019 access to fresh and nutritious food, reducing \u201cgatekeeping\u201d for small food start-ups seeking affordable production space (Zeromile has also proposed sliding-scale membership and scholarships), and combatting food waste.<\/p>\n Zeromile is slated to take over the vacant River City Growers space in Lawrenceville, leased by Breen. The project was initially awarded a $100,000 USDA grant, but following the federal funding freeze in January and spending cuts, the award was reduced to $25,000. Through the Keystone Development Development Center, Zeromile launched its first round of fundraising<\/a> last month to cover its initial buildout and launch.<\/p>\n A variety of founding worker-members have already signed onto the cooperative, including Trevor Ring of Community Cultures<\/a>, Jayashree Iyengar of Popping Mustard Seeds<\/a> (specializing in Indian vegetarian cuisine), Kim Flurry of A Kind Loving World Bone Broth, Marla Harvey<\/a> of Made By Marla Mae<\/a> pastries, and Marie Mencher of Lil\u2019Loaf (selling fruit leather and baked goods).<\/p>\n Zeromile, Breen says, represents the culmination of many facets of his work in food systems and agriculture. After becoming legally blind at age 25 due a hereditary condition, Breen says that with no \u201cgenerational background,\u201d he transitioned from working as a veterinary technician to farming.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to pick the hardest thing,\u201d Breen says, \u201cbecause I [thought], if I can do that, then there are not limitations to what could come after.\u201d<\/p>\n After graduating from Bidwell Training Center\u2019s Horticulture Technology Program, he operated a permaculture and goat farm in York County, Pa. for six years.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I had fallen in love, looking at these approaches to agriculture that mirror natural ecological systems,\u201d Breen recalls. \u201cThat was just like a can of worms \u2014 it just spoke to me.\u201d<\/p>\n He launched River City Growers, one of the region\u2019s first vertical hydroponic farms, in a small commercial warehouse in 2021, growing salad greens and herbs stacked in a six-layer, 12-foot-high structure. Now a local urban grower<\/a>, he again faced barriers to staying profitable, especially developing a value-added product.<\/p>\n \u201cAgain, it just was a matter of \u2018you need to turn it into a product,\u2019\u201d Breen says. \u201cBut every kitchen I looked at was going to be $800, $1,500 more a month, [and] I\u2019m selling a $3 product.\u201d<\/p>\n Out of that experience, Breen co-founded Zeromile with Amanda Pagniello, a dispatcher at 412 Food Rescue, food security advocate, and industry veteran of a dozen years.<\/p>\n Driving Zeromile\u2019s vision, Pagniello tells City Paper, is an eye toward collaboration and \u201cdecentralizing power\u201d in food production, which often has a \u201chuge, insanely high\u201d bar to entry. Pagniello asserts that Zeromile\u2019s cooperative framework stands in contrast to Pittsburgh\u2019s food halls<\/a> or other business incubators, top-down organizations that can price out workers like Breen. Instead, it aims for a linear power structure with shared resources and jointly written bylaws and governance.<\/p>\n According to its fundraising page, Zeromile\u2019s worker-members gain access not only to a fully-equipped kitchen (with walk-in refrigeration and possible dry storage) and its small-batch co-packing space, but also to workshops and open source \u201cequitable\u201d business education that aims to build lasting jobs and a \u201clongevity economy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis idea is not just about our kitchen,\u201d Pagniello says. \u201cIt\u2019s about something bigger. It\u2019s about creating a blueprint that\u2019s making it easier for food producers to produce, making it easier for food access, making it easier for farmers, and creating community hubs.\u201d<\/p>\n She imagines the Lawrenceville cooperative being replicated in other neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cThe larger idea is we make a co-op of co-ops,\u201d Pagniello says. Eventually, they hope to move beyond grant funding toward financial independence and food sovereignty<\/a>, where \u201cwe utilize our financial or capital and our surplus to buy more land in Allegheny County, start a cooperative farm, and shorten the food chain even more.\u201d<\/p>\n Drawing on her experience at 412 Food Rescue, Pagniello also envisions Zeromile engaging in mutual aid efforts amidst Pittsburgh\u2019s rising food insecurity.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen it firsthand, how it\u2019s getting worse in every neighborhood \u2026 we\u2019re going to continue seeing the decline and access to a lot of resources, so it\u2019s painful,\u201d Pagniello said, speaking to CP before cuts to federal food aid including SNAP<\/a> were announced in October. \u201cWe\u2019re an individualistic society, and it\u2019s really problematic; the rest of the world is a very collective society. What we need to understand is that we need to move in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1000015602-scaled.jpg\")
Kitchen equipment at the future Zeromile Co-op space in Lawrenceville Credit: Amanda Pagniello<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/052925_fermentation-14.webp.webp\")
Trevor Ring, Founder of Community Cultures leads a fermentation class at Chantal\u2019s Cheese Shop on May 29, 2025. Credit: CP Photo: Mars Johnson<\/p>\n