Board of Directors

Molly Christopher

Hello! My name is Molly Christopher (she/her), and I am excited to be elected to a three year term on the Board of Directors. I am currently on the Finance and Outreach committees. My family relocated to the Northfield area in the fall of 2019, and built a home here to form deep roots in this community. My interests include growing, preserving, and preparing food, reading, hiking, travel, and art in many forms. Co-ops came into my life in 1999, and I spent over a decade working at two co-ops in Minneapolis. In joining the BOD, I hope to utilize my love of co-ops, my interest in sustainable food and careers, and my desire to help grow our co-op thoughtfully with
inclusion.

Christine Fankhanel

Community and local food are some of the best things about living in Northfield. My name is Christine Fankhanel (she/her), our family moved to Northfield in 2017 and joined the coop shortly after. My weekends are filled with gardening, seed keeping and generally enjoying the outdoors.
My weekdays are filled with running the Reading Corps, Math Corps, and Early Learning Corps as Sr. Director of Minnesota
Programs. Across the state of Minnesota we engage over 1000 AmeriCorps members each year as we work to make sure Minnesota’s kids have the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond. The opportunity to serve on the board of directors has been a way to support the local food through an organization I love, get to know a great group of people, and utilize and expand my skills. I served two years on the Outreach committee and this is my second year on the Events committee.

Maia Homstad

I’m excited to be a newly elected member of the Just Food Board of Directors, and look forward to giving back to the Northfield community that raised me. I serve on both the Events and Outreach committees, where we work to connect with both members and non-members through our website, newsletter, social media, the annual meeting, and events. Since my main goal as a professional editor is to help people communicate, I hope to contribute my skills towards the mission of the coop through this committee work. When the weather is sunny, you can find me hiking in the woods with my dog Mo or mucking about in my garden. When the weather isn’t so sunny, you can find me cooking or making art.

Carla Johnson

My name is Carla Johnson, and I am in my second year of a 3-year term on your Board of Directors. Currently, I serve as the Vice President, Chair of the Education Committee and am on the Events Committee. My husband and I moved to Northfield in the fall of 2020, a return to Northfield for me and a new location for him. Previously, I lived here from 1976 to 1990 and then moved to other communities for jobs until we both retired. In retirement I have been working as a fitness coach and yoga instructor at FiftyNorth, learning to do art, doing some volunteer work and learning how to have free time to fill. Family is super important to me and being in Northfield allows us time with son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter! Food co-ops came into my life in 1979, when I was part of the group of people who started the first cooperative buying club in Northfield. It’s fabulous to come full circle, be part of JFC and see the growth and change that has happened over the years.

Derek Meyers

My wife and I have lived in Northfield for over a decade. We joined Just Food Co-op immediately when we moved to town! We opened Imminent Brewing 6 years ago and I am in my 5th year serving on the Just Food board of directors. I currently serve on the Education and Finance Committees and was elected board president. I’m excited about streamlining our policies and procedures in order to open up space for the board to engage more fully in long term visioning, community outreach and efforts towards making the store and the board more diverse, inclusive and equitable. I enjoy bicycling, disc golfing, playing soccer, hiking with our dog Neon and reading a good novel. My education was in English and Political Science, particularly environmental politics and issues of sustainability, and I see Just Food as a key player in our local foodshed, connecting local producers to consumers and providing quality, healthy food to our entire community while having a positive impact on our wider environment.

Jacob Morton

I am the board treasurer and on the education and finance committees. I’m an assistant professor in the Classics department at Carleton College. In my free time, I like playing music, cooking, and studying the history of food and cooking from the ancient world to today. I hope to help make JFC the most vibrant co-op in the midwest, the best place to work in Minnesota, and a wonderful community space for local
farmers and shoppers.

Page Nelson

I have been serving on the Just Food Board of Directors since 2020, and before that I was a Just Food employee for 7 years in the Produce Department. I am currently the Secretary for the Board, as well as a member of the Education Committee. I have lived in Northfield for 11 years and have always been passionate about supporting and participating in the local foodshed. I believe if we work together, especially on a local level, we can strengthen our connection to each other and the earth, finding ways to create a more sustainable culture ecologically, economically, and socially. I work at Spring Wind Farm, manage an Airbnb, and help out as a substitute TA/Para at Prairie Creek Community School. I love sharing time with my family, playing music with friends, and enjoying the outdoors. I hope my time on the board helps grow Just Food’s positive impact on our community, strengthening its connection to local producers and making our store more accessible to everyone from all walks of life.

Tessa Parks

Hi! My name is Tessa, I use she/they pronouns and I’m a farmer and chemist. I grew up in NW Washington before moving to Minnesota and
earning an undergrad degree at St. Olaf in chemistry. When I’m not working in the lab, or working with cattle or farmer’s market with my spouse Wyatt, I like to work in my leather goods studio (Teaspoon Leatherworks), hang out with my two dogs Muppet and Guernsey, or putz in my garden of veggies and flowers. As a member of the board, I’d like to see more connections made between local growers, small businesses and Just Food Co-op. Whether it’s helping broaden opportunities for beginning farmers to sell in-store, stock local products, or teaching the community about where the food they love comes from. This year, I serve on the finance and education committees.

Michael Pursell

I was elected to the Just Food Board in 2018, served as Board President from 2020-2022, and am currently a Director-at-Large. When I’m not shopping or directing at Just Food or growing or cooking my own food, I’m the Food Access Program Director for the Community Action Center, where I work to give food away to as many Rice County families as possible. My background is in farming, I currently serve on the Outreach and Education committees, and I’m excited to be involved in refreshing the co-op’s policy register and bylaws for a new chapter in Just Food’s story.