Linda Jones, she/her, Top Circle President
I've been working with the co-op since its founding in 2015. I serve as the President of the Top Circle. I'm busy networking with other institutions, neighborhood groups, businesses and individuals to get more owners and more community buy-in for the co-op. I also do Facebook/Instagram posts, newsletters and help new volunteers find the best fit for their skills and talents with the co-op. I also serve on the Site Selection circle and work with the Marketing circle.
In my other life, I'm married to Jim Jones, student housing co-op elder, and have two sons who have been involved in co-ops, two great daughter-in-laws and three beautiful and extremely talented grandchildren. I also lead the Grand Rapids Threshold Choir. We sing at the bedside when folks are nearing death to provide comfort and connection through our song. If you want to know more, visit www.thresholdchoir.org.
My plant super power would be the ability to convert sun energy to body energy, then I could just go forever.
I've been working with the co-op since its founding in 2015. I serve as the President of the Top Circle. I'm busy networking with other institutions, neighborhood groups, businesses and individuals to get more owners and more community buy-in for the co-op. I also do Facebook/Instagram posts, newsletters and help new volunteers find the best fit for their skills and talents with the co-op. I also serve on the Site Selection circle and work with the Marketing circle.
In my other life, I'm married to Jim Jones, student housing co-op elder, and have two sons who have been involved in co-ops, two great daughter-in-laws and three beautiful and extremely talented grandchildren. I also lead the Grand Rapids Threshold Choir. We sing at the bedside when folks are nearing death to provide comfort and connection through our song. If you want to know more, visit www.thresholdchoir.org.
My plant super power would be the ability to convert sun energy to body energy, then I could just go forever.
Bryan Heijstek, he/él Top Circle Outreach Lead
~ If I could have a plant superpower, I would want to be able to become a companion plant to any plant growing next to me so all will benefit from my presence and I theirs. ~
As our food co-op continues to evolve following the COVID-19 pandemic, I am pleased with how many face-to-face opportunities we've found. I lead organizing around hosting our info tables - which have included the Neighborhood Summit put on by the City of Grand Rapids, Creston After Dark by Lions and Rabbits, and the OnePeace Hip Hop Fest by Monk and Edwin - and growing relationships with other community organizers. For example, we've seen our relationship with Seeds of Promise blossom and continue to enjoy their Spades tournaments and community engagement in the Southeast side of Grand Rapids. I am also the representative to the Grand Rapids Climate Coalition, moving to make Grand Rapids carbon neutral by 2030. Growing a Food Co-op is all about making connections within our local community. I hope to establish a core group of tablers and canvassers in the near future so that we can increase our face-to-face interactions and give more time to pursue the many relationships we'd like to strengthen. If you're interested in either of these, please reach out !
Alongside the food co-op, I work with a seasoned woodworker and fellow co-op owner, Steve Uren. I also sit on the Land Use Committee at Circle Pines Center where we've begun a prairie restoration project and am exploring various avenues within tree care which has included becoming certified as a Neighborhood Forester with Friends of GR Parks. I'm also an avid chess player and space enthusiast, so let's play a game or visit the Veen Observatory. I'm eager to open our food co-op so I can begin working on the next cooperative enterprise. Any ideas of what this could be ? Let's talk.
~ If I could have a plant superpower, I would want to be able to become a companion plant to any plant growing next to me so all will benefit from my presence and I theirs. ~
As our food co-op continues to evolve following the COVID-19 pandemic, I am pleased with how many face-to-face opportunities we've found. I lead organizing around hosting our info tables - which have included the Neighborhood Summit put on by the City of Grand Rapids, Creston After Dark by Lions and Rabbits, and the OnePeace Hip Hop Fest by Monk and Edwin - and growing relationships with other community organizers. For example, we've seen our relationship with Seeds of Promise blossom and continue to enjoy their Spades tournaments and community engagement in the Southeast side of Grand Rapids. I am also the representative to the Grand Rapids Climate Coalition, moving to make Grand Rapids carbon neutral by 2030. Growing a Food Co-op is all about making connections within our local community. I hope to establish a core group of tablers and canvassers in the near future so that we can increase our face-to-face interactions and give more time to pursue the many relationships we'd like to strengthen. If you're interested in either of these, please reach out !
Alongside the food co-op, I work with a seasoned woodworker and fellow co-op owner, Steve Uren. I also sit on the Land Use Committee at Circle Pines Center where we've begun a prairie restoration project and am exploring various avenues within tree care which has included becoming certified as a Neighborhood Forester with Friends of GR Parks. I'm also an avid chess player and space enthusiast, so let's play a game or visit the Veen Observatory. I'm eager to open our food co-op so I can begin working on the next cooperative enterprise. Any ideas of what this could be ? Let's talk.
Jason Herlands, Top Circle/Treasurer/Finance Lead
1. Describe your involvement with the coop.
After hearing rumors about efforts to build a food coop in Grand Rapids, my husband and I decided to that our household should join in the summer of 2016, and that I would be ready to volunteer time and energy to see the project through to its fruition. I have regularly attended almost every meeting since then. In September 2016 I was nominated to be the facilitator for what is now the Outreach circle, which primarily involves disseminating information about the food coop initiative and signing up new member-owners.
2. Do you have any other relevant experience?
To this end I have organized presentations, hosted pop-up information sessions, tabled at Veg Fest and the Fulton Street Farmers Market and Eastown Bizarre Bazaar, sent messages to folks who have signed up, created promotional videos, contributed regularly to our social media, helped with ad campaigns and newsletter copy, and dedicated countless hours to speaking and messaging potential member-owners and volunteers. I continue to do many of these things as you read this statement. The potential to build a cooperatively-run grocery store in Grand Rapids makes these efforts worthwhile, and I would like to continue to work for the food coop by serving on its Board.
3. What should the coop's role to be in the broader community?
For me, a cooperative can be a special kind of business, one that fulfills its mission through the active participation of its owners — and the recruitment of more stakeholders — by creating a community space centered around a very basic need: food. To me that means efforts and outreach to ensure access to nutritious food at reasonable prices, to fulfill the needs of all members of the greater community. It requires support for sustainable and local agriculture, keeping the economy of West Michigan as well as the ecology of our planet in mind. I also believe that the coop should be a public space where, over a meal or a beverage, people can commune to build stronger ties, whether through educational programming, activism, the arts, or simply conversations among friends. That is, I imagine the food coop as a site of community interaction and nourishment, with inclusivity and openness at its core, whereby success is measured not only by sales figures but also by the positive effects of the store on the food options of the surrounding community.
1. Describe your involvement with the coop.
After hearing rumors about efforts to build a food coop in Grand Rapids, my husband and I decided to that our household should join in the summer of 2016, and that I would be ready to volunteer time and energy to see the project through to its fruition. I have regularly attended almost every meeting since then. In September 2016 I was nominated to be the facilitator for what is now the Outreach circle, which primarily involves disseminating information about the food coop initiative and signing up new member-owners.
2. Do you have any other relevant experience?
To this end I have organized presentations, hosted pop-up information sessions, tabled at Veg Fest and the Fulton Street Farmers Market and Eastown Bizarre Bazaar, sent messages to folks who have signed up, created promotional videos, contributed regularly to our social media, helped with ad campaigns and newsletter copy, and dedicated countless hours to speaking and messaging potential member-owners and volunteers. I continue to do many of these things as you read this statement. The potential to build a cooperatively-run grocery store in Grand Rapids makes these efforts worthwhile, and I would like to continue to work for the food coop by serving on its Board.
3. What should the coop's role to be in the broader community?
For me, a cooperative can be a special kind of business, one that fulfills its mission through the active participation of its owners — and the recruitment of more stakeholders — by creating a community space centered around a very basic need: food. To me that means efforts and outreach to ensure access to nutritious food at reasonable prices, to fulfill the needs of all members of the greater community. It requires support for sustainable and local agriculture, keeping the economy of West Michigan as well as the ecology of our planet in mind. I also believe that the coop should be a public space where, over a meal or a beverage, people can commune to build stronger ties, whether through educational programming, activism, the arts, or simply conversations among friends. That is, I imagine the food coop as a site of community interaction and nourishment, with inclusivity and openness at its core, whereby success is measured not only by sales figures but also by the positive effects of the store on the food options of the surrounding community.
Daisy Fu, She/Her, Top Circle/In Reach, Outreach, Marketing
What are you working on with the food co-op?
Social media posts, organizing cohort potlucks, house parties, organizing volunteer and tabling events.
Things you do outside the co-op.
Committee member in Living Green of the Creston Neighborhood Association.
If you could have a plant superpower, what would it be and why?
Photosynthesis, whcih converts CO2 to O2. This will help to fight climate change!
What are you working on with the food co-op?
Social media posts, organizing cohort potlucks, house parties, organizing volunteer and tabling events.
Things you do outside the co-op.
Committee member in Living Green of the Creston Neighborhood Association.
If you could have a plant superpower, what would it be and why?
Photosynthesis, whcih converts CO2 to O2. This will help to fight climate change!
Evan Edwards, Top Circle/Outreach
Describe your involvement with the co-op:
I joined the co-op in 2020, and have tabled for the organization as part of a membership drive. Beyond that, however, I have mostly been a spectator so far.
Do you have any other relevant experience?:
My background is in foodservice, hospitality, and agriculture, so I have been immersed in the world of food since childhood. In addition to working in conventional restaurants and farms, I have worked in several cooperatives, including but not limited to Firestorm Cafe (where I was a worker-owner from 2008-2010), the Driftless Cooption (a buying club that supplements a more formal brick and mortar food coop in Viroqua, WI), and Green Thistle Farm (a cooperative farming venture in Clarksville, MI). I have also been researching food systems for the last decade and have taught courses on the environmental impact of food, as well as the business ethics of foodservice and hospitality. This research has culminated in my doctoral dissertation entitled Restorative Gastronomy: On Plant Life, Food, and Hospitality.
What should the co-op’s role be in the broader community?
Unlike conventional grocery stores, whose primary motive is not to provide quality food, but to generate profit for business owners, cooperatives are a tool for communities to supply themselves with local, healthy, reliable food. I believe that our cooperative has an opportunity to generate genuine interest and passion for good food by creating an organizational structure that encourages participation in the sourcing and purchasing of products that fulfill these needs. Beyond handing control of sourcing to the people, our cooperative can also help to provide resources and educate consumers about ways to use their groceries and about who is growing it.
Describe your involvement with the co-op:
I joined the co-op in 2020, and have tabled for the organization as part of a membership drive. Beyond that, however, I have mostly been a spectator so far.
Do you have any other relevant experience?:
My background is in foodservice, hospitality, and agriculture, so I have been immersed in the world of food since childhood. In addition to working in conventional restaurants and farms, I have worked in several cooperatives, including but not limited to Firestorm Cafe (where I was a worker-owner from 2008-2010), the Driftless Cooption (a buying club that supplements a more formal brick and mortar food coop in Viroqua, WI), and Green Thistle Farm (a cooperative farming venture in Clarksville, MI). I have also been researching food systems for the last decade and have taught courses on the environmental impact of food, as well as the business ethics of foodservice and hospitality. This research has culminated in my doctoral dissertation entitled Restorative Gastronomy: On Plant Life, Food, and Hospitality.
What should the co-op’s role be in the broader community?
Unlike conventional grocery stores, whose primary motive is not to provide quality food, but to generate profit for business owners, cooperatives are a tool for communities to supply themselves with local, healthy, reliable food. I believe that our cooperative has an opportunity to generate genuine interest and passion for good food by creating an organizational structure that encourages participation in the sourcing and purchasing of products that fulfill these needs. Beyond handing control of sourcing to the people, our cooperative can also help to provide resources and educate consumers about ways to use their groceries and about who is growing it.
Wojtek Nocon, Top Circle/Marketing
1. Describe your involvement with the co-op. I was actively involved in the early stages of GRFCI, in 2015 and 2016. During that time, I attended the Midwest co-op conference and learned in great detail what it takes to startup a food coop. I was actively involved in all the meetings during this 2-year span and was voted to the first Top Circle that we ever had. I worked closely with Linda and others and helped form many of the early concepts about our mission, values, community and membership. This experience is invaluable when running for Top Circle again.
2. Do you have any other relevant experience? I am passionate about community, sustainability and solutions to climate change. I recently received my Master’s in Sustainability and the information that I learned is well applied to many concepts related to food co-ops. I lived in Minneapolis and was an active member for 10 years at the Wedge Community Coop, this is good first-hand experience to apply to Top Circle decision making. I am passionate about making positive change in the community.
3. What should the co-op’s role be in the broader community? Our co-op can have many roles in the broader community. Educating our members on various topics focusing on food, cooking, farming, health, and climate change will enable the co-op to be a change agent in the community. A healthy and informed community is a stronger community to fight for good and sustainable causes. The co-op should actively engage in community affairs as it pertains to food security/insecurity as this topic is closely related to poverty and communities in need. Activism for causes that support the coop values can be another role played by the coop.
4. Are there other statements relevant to your candidacy that owners should know? I am excited to get involved again in the coop and to help wherever help is needed and to keep on building our membership to make the dream come true.
1. Describe your involvement with the co-op. I was actively involved in the early stages of GRFCI, in 2015 and 2016. During that time, I attended the Midwest co-op conference and learned in great detail what it takes to startup a food coop. I was actively involved in all the meetings during this 2-year span and was voted to the first Top Circle that we ever had. I worked closely with Linda and others and helped form many of the early concepts about our mission, values, community and membership. This experience is invaluable when running for Top Circle again.
2. Do you have any other relevant experience? I am passionate about community, sustainability and solutions to climate change. I recently received my Master’s in Sustainability and the information that I learned is well applied to many concepts related to food co-ops. I lived in Minneapolis and was an active member for 10 years at the Wedge Community Coop, this is good first-hand experience to apply to Top Circle decision making. I am passionate about making positive change in the community.
3. What should the co-op’s role be in the broader community? Our co-op can have many roles in the broader community. Educating our members on various topics focusing on food, cooking, farming, health, and climate change will enable the co-op to be a change agent in the community. A healthy and informed community is a stronger community to fight for good and sustainable causes. The co-op should actively engage in community affairs as it pertains to food security/insecurity as this topic is closely related to poverty and communities in need. Activism for causes that support the coop values can be another role played by the coop.
4. Are there other statements relevant to your candidacy that owners should know? I am excited to get involved again in the coop and to help wherever help is needed and to keep on building our membership to make the dream come true.
