As an owner of Outpost, you embody the values of community, advocacy, and moving our cooperative forward to a sustainable future. And what better way to play a role in this future, than participating in the upcoming Board of Directors election? 

This year’s election takes place for a 15-day period, starting on Monday, March 20 at 9 a.m. and ending on Monday, April 3 at 9 p.m. Your voice matters, so we’d like to encourage all owners to set aside a bit of time to cast your vote.

What are you voting for? The Board of Directors is composed of nine Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative owners, including our board president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. Each Director is elected by owners and serves a three-year term. You can read more about what the board does here.

This election cycle, due to the early departure of two elected board members, we have four open positions on the board. During the election, you can cast your vote for up to three candidates. ​​The top three candidates who receive the most votes will each serve three-year terms. The candidate with the least number of votes will serve a one-year term. Go here to learn more about the candidates and their goals in serving on the board.

Five great reasons to cast your vote!

1) Voting is an exercise in cooperative democracy. As a cooperative, we operate on democratic principles, and your vote will help to determine the direction for Outpost over the next three years!

2) Your vote is even more important in 2023. A strong board is always important to ensure the success of Outpost Natural Foods Cooperative. But it is more important now than ever before since the new board members will be responsible for overseeing the transition for our new Outpost General Manager.

3) We’re making it easy to get to know the candidates. In addition to the video above, you can get to know each of the four candidates and the reasons why they are running for the board by reading their statements and watching their candidate videos.

• Tay Fatke  
• Ashley Fisher 
• Becca Guralnick 
• Duncan Shrout 

4) Voting is EASY PEASY! You can vote ONLINE or IN PERSON at your favorite store! Even better, it only takes a few minutes. Be sure you have your owner number on hand; you will need it to vote.

5) Your vote will support local farmers! This year, Outpost will be donating $1 for every owner ballot submitted in this year’s election to Fondy, the local non-profit behind the Fondy Farmers Market and Milwaukee Winter Farmers Market!

Thank you in advance for participating in this year’s Outpost Board of Directors election. See you at Outpost!

From your Board Engagement Committee: Melissa Drews, Lori Fredrich and Michelle Prosek