Kate Fulton has a passion for many causes

Fighting for democracy and the welfare of animals are just two of them

Kate Fulton grew up on a farm and is never far from the animals she loves. Photo by Walden Kirsch

Kate Fulton was unknown to many Food Front Cooperative Grocery members when she stood up at a membership meeting last July and delivered a haymaker that ended the autocratic rule of then-president Roman Schvarts.

A year earlier, Fulton had accepted a plea for someone with financial expertise to join the board. While saying little at board meetings, she pored through co-op archives, gaining an appreciation for Food Front’s history and the culture that held it together for 51 years before closing in 2023.

“I went through literally every piece of paper in the store,” she said. “I was amazed at how long the co-op kept going. They were bleeding money like crazy from about 2010, but people kept putting their savings on the line.”

She found that more than a million dollars was loaned and donated by individuals and businesses, most of it in amounts of $5,000-$30,000, with notes expressing their dedication to the cause.

“That was a heartwarming thing,” she said. “It still gives me shivers.”

While recent board leaders argued that “nobody cares about the co-op, I felt that can’t be true. They just felt powerless to change it.”

Fulton shared her findings with a series of long emails to members.

When she laid out the case for new board leadership at the July 1 meeting, the standing room only crowd showed its support with a resounding ovation.

Overcoming powerlessness is a big deal to Fulton.

After 15 years in accounting and finance positions, she now works as a paralegal with a goal of becoming a lawyer through an apprenticeship without attending law school. She was drawn to the possibilities of a law career after representing herself in several small claims court cases.

“Food Front experience solidified my desire to use the law to make the world a better place,” she said.

Animals have a place in that better world.

Fulton did not grow up on a farm, but she has spent her adult life catching up. The suffering of animals in factory farms troubles her. She got involved in animal rescue during the Oregon wildfires of 2020, collecting animal carriers from donors across the region and using them to bring creatures to safety at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds.

For five years, Fulton has volunteered at Wildlings Forest Sanctuary, a place for goats, pigs, chickens and other abandoned creatures that is operated by a couple who live on the 3-acre property in outer Northwest Portland. Fulton lives five minutes away.

Fulton also loves to write, and she will be contributing pieces to the NW Examiner on subjects she cares about, such as calling out injustice and improving our community. She is one of several writers joining us as we expand our coverage and commentary.

Kate Fulton’s opening comments at the July Food Front membership meeting turned out to be the last word for former co-op leaders.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Fulton was raised on a farm.