🌳 running for the 2026 Park Slope Food Coop board of directors
a candidate statement
My name is Rex Ledesma and I’m running to be your Park Slope Food Coop board member.
When I moved to New York City in October 2022, I was fortunate to join the Coop that same month. Since then, I’ve gained so much from my time at the Coop while working and shopping in cooperation. I’ve experienced the joy of cooking with fresh produce and an incredible stock of groceries, all at affordable prices. When I work in produce processing or at the checkout, I feel happy to learn something new about the produce or recipes fellow members are planning. I am grateful to share this community with you all.
My background is in software engineering. Recently, I’ve drawn inspiration from past grassroots efforts to give back to the Coop. I look up to Jonah Burke, who built the unofficial Foodcoop iOS app in 2017 to help members explore the Coop’s local produce inventory.
Building off of Burke’s legacy and as a way to contribute back to the Coop, I created foodcoop.news as a convenient way to stay in the loop with the Park Slope Food Coop.
During an especially snowy weekend in January 2026, I began developing the site. Since then, I’ve added a number of expanded features. You can browse an assortment of news sources related to the Coop all in one place. You can search the Coop’s produce selection alongside historical price information. You can add your Coop membership card to your Apple or Google Wallet. Finally, you can sync your favorite available work shifts to Google, Outlook, or Apple Calendar.
The site aggregates public news across multiple sources, like the official Coop announcements, Coop Bluesky, Linewaiters’ Gazette, and committees like Foodcoop Cooks, Foodcoop Wordsprouts, and Foodcoop Concerts. You can also view upcoming Coop events and stay connected to fellow members. All this news is accessible in one single feed.
The site also displays the Coop’s public produce selection alongside historical price information. You can search the produce inventory, track new produce arrivals, receive notifications when items go out of stock, and monitor price changes over time.
With the contribution of a dataset collected by John Resig, a former member of the Coop Web Committee, foodcoop.news proudly displays the evolution of Coop produce prices from 2013 to the present. This wealth of information is now accessible to all fellow members.
For Park Slope Food Coop to have “good food at an affordable price for working members through cooperation”, I believe its inventory and prices must be more discoverable. Member-owners should be able to find deals, uncover newly arrived items, and plan meals using up-to-date inventory and pricing information.
Cooperation thrives on shared transparency and accessibility. With that goal in mind, foodcoop.news is one step in that direction, beginning with transparency around our produce inventory.
In the spirit of accessibility, all members can access foodcoop.news on web, Android, iOS, or whatever device. It is completely free, and account sign-up is optional. The implementation of the site is also open-source for members to inspect, report issues, and contribute functionality.
I believe we can build the future that we want as member-owners of the Coop. We don’t have to keep dreaming about change! I hope my current work so far serves as a tangible example of the modern conveniences that are possible for members to enjoy at the Coop.
For my fellow member-owners, I will work to bring transparency and accessibility not only produce, but for the rest of the Coop’s inventory, its committees, and its governance. I am running for the board of directors to further this vision. I currently do not have any endorsement from any Coop member-run group, nor am I an active member of any Coop member-run group.
— Rex
Rex for president
HIS NAME IS REX LEDESMA!