Meet HPC Board Member Joel Krogstad

—by Rachel Fang

New HPC Board member Joel Krogstad comes from a family that has “cooperatives in its blood.” Joel grew up in a housing co-op in the suburbs of Chicago called York Center, in which some 70 families collectively owned 50 acres. Each family owned its own home, and shared common areas. Growing up in this close community, in which people were in and out of each other’s homes, helped form Joel's passion for the cooperative model.

Joel and his wife, Faith, moved to St. Paul from South Minneapolis and live in the Hamline Midway area. Former members of North Country Co-op, they joined HPC when it became the only co-op in the Twin Cities that offered members the opportunity to volunteer in the store and earn a discount. “HPC’s volunteer model and its non-elitist atmosphere” resonated with Joel, and it was through volunteering that he came to care about the success of the co-op. Joel and his family joined HPC in 2006 and now purchase most of their groceries at the co-op. They have a one-year-old daughter named Sula who is just learning to walk. “The co-op’s staff are so helpful and baby-friendly,” Joel says. “There’s always someone ready to hold the baby while we shop.”

Joel is the director of an AmeriCorps program and Faith is a community organizer with the Hamline Midway Coalition. They share their commitment to giving back to the community in all aspects of their lives.

Along with his work at AmeriCorps and his volunteer work at HPC, Joel and his wife are working with a group of parents to start a child-care cooperative. In his spare time (what little there is), Joel enjoys working on the old house he and Faith bought, and he has taken a number of community education classes. “I rewired the whole house,” he said proudly.

Joel likes the community of people at HPC. “...[I]t has a whole different feel than other co-ops in the Twin Cities. The volunteer aspect really makes a difference.”

Joel Krogstad was elected to HPC’s Board of Directors in October 2010.

[Rachel Fang is a graduate student in housing studies at the University of Minnesota and enjoys talking to almost anyone about their lives and experiences. She will soon be moving back to St. Anthony Park.]