Crisis at the Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op leaves unanswered questions

UKIAH, CA., 5/8/26 — Ukiah Natural Foods Co-op, the 50-year-old member-owned grocery at the center of Mendocino County’s organic-food economy, is without a general manager again. Robert Drake was terminated days after more than half the co-op’s staff walked off the job on April 27.

The walkout came after staff and members learned Drake had been listed on a sex offender registry — a fact the co-op’s board has since acknowledged it knew before hiring him.