2026 Ypsilanti Food Coop Board members

I am a life-long Michigander and have lived in Ypsilanti for nearly 20 years. I am a wife, mother, dog-mom to three rescues, and small-business owner. I have been a member of the Co-op board for nearly a decade, three of those years as Vice President and the remainder as President. During that time, I supported the expansion and construction of the café, I assisted in rewriting the Board bylaws, and as well as the change that allows for the patronage dividend to the membership. I love Ypsilanti and I love the Co-op. I love that it is a place for gathering and community, and provides the opportunity to shop for local, fresh food. This is where I raised my daughter and I’m proud to call it home. I will continue serving the Co-op membership and the general public by ensuring the Co-op is the most successful it can be.

I am a research scientist at the University of Michigan. Our family, which includes children, ages 11, 10, and 7, joined the Ypsilanti Food Co-op because we were looking for ways to better support the local community, including environmental sustainability and animal welfare. I believe the Co-op’s mission to support the local economy and be a model for sustainable environmental, cooperative business practices, and democratic governance is very important and it has been an honor to serve on the YFC Board for the past two terms. I hope to continue to bring the board the perspective of a family that wants to see the Co-op continue to thrive and grow. My goal is simply to serve the mission of the Co-op and its members to the best of my ability.

I have spent my entire life in the Ypsi/Washtenaw county community working in local food, farming, and grocery. On top of serving on multiple local and state agricultural boards, I am a founding member of the Washtenaw County Black Farmer’s Fund, and the owner of Old City Acres Farm & Food Hub located in Ypsilanti. As someone who has personally worked with the Ypsi Coop over the last decade, I have an overarching understanding of the local & state food system as well as the intricate nature of operating a fresh food business that will help add a local farmer voice to the board and continue to build the Ypi Coop over the coming years.

My name is Ron Rich. My wife and I have lived in Ypsilanti for 30 years. I’ve taught anthropology at Eastern Michigan University for the last 15 of those years and have been a Gold Card member for the past 5. I have long personal and professional interests in agriculture, first studying industrial agriculture to earn my Ph.D., and then more recently local foods in the Ypsilanti area. I integrate local and alternative foods into my teaching and have worked with organizations and farmers devoted to our local food system. Local foods are among the most important social movements of our age and the Co-op has been at the forefront of the movements in our community for 50 years.

Hello. I am a home owner here in Ypsilanti. My beloved and I bought a home within walking distance, on purpose, as we both have been shoppers and/or members of this and other food co-ops in the area. Currently I commute by the week to Cheboygan for my position there.

I believe in the ways we develop community through cooperative methods. And involvement in the operations of the Food Co-op is a natural extension of my beliefs.

Among several work experiences, I have a background in farming, food production and commercial food and have a strong connection within the local food system. I spent several years raising a couple-hundred chickens annually for production of fresh fryers on a farm located between A2 and Dexter. Until fall 2024 my family operated a large-scale production fruit operation in which I was involved. During college I was employed within commercial restaurants, within the food system serving Michigan State University, and later pulled a several year stint at Monahan’s Seafood. In the mid-90s I was part of the fledgling Food Systems Economic Partnership through the MSU County Extension, attempting to expand the local food system and encourage local small scale farming. The local food system is something to which I am already well connected. I am excited to gain a retail perspective with my neighbors here at the Ypsilanti Food Co-op.

Thank you for taking the time to read my profile! My name is Frederick Peebles and I am running for the Ypsilanti Food Co-op Board. I have lived, worked and studied in the greater Ypsilanti area for over 50 years. I grew up regularly going to the Peoples Food Co-op in Ann Arbor, assisting my parents as they volunteered and learning how the business worked.

I attended college locally, receiving an associates degree from Washtenaw Community College, bachelors degrees in Political Science and Economics from Eastern Michigan and a Juris Doctor from The University of Detroit Mercy. After graduation from law school , I held various positions: drive transporting vulnerable populations for A-Ride, political science professor at Washtenaw Community College, staff attorney for a personal injury firm and caterer and farmer where my wife and I run Fuzion Foods and Healthy Harvest Farm in Milan.

I connect with the Co-op on many levels. They stock a wide variety of locally sourced organic foods we eat, support equal access to food, and promote a sustainable business model. I am running for the Ypsilanti Food Co-op board because I believe that my skillset can help the Co-op continue to grow and thrive.

I work for an international EdTech with local ties, and for The Health & Fitness Center at WCC as a fitness instructor. Ypsilanti has been my home for about 2/3 of my life and my husband and I have been Township residents for 15 years. I am an active alumnae member of my sorority, currently serving in nationally appointed and local volunteer positions, and have previously served on the Ypsilanti Freighthouse and Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary boards. My interest in the Food Co-Op stems from wanting to support local producers and farmers and improving access to plant-based options in food deserts.