Jasper Gary-Bey is the Founder of King-Dome Builders, an Ypsilanti-based organization that hosts community bicycle rides every second Sunday; serves dinner each month for the community with Second Baptist Church and Ypsilanti Seventh-day Adventist Church; and maintains a local orchard and community garden. He was born and raised in the old West side of Ann Arbor, with family originally from Inkster by way of Atlanta, Georgia, and Grand Rapids by way of Gary, Indiana. Gary-Bey spent a few years in Lansing before moving to Ypsilanti and has lived here since 2019. He is passionate about land accessibility and teaching others how to garden to provide for their communities and as a way of therapy. Gary-Bey started growing food in 2015, when he discovered that he could propagate a tomato plant and grow his own produce, which was much more flavorful and plentiful than any produce he could get from the supermarket. When he is not working to provide for his family or expand food access for the community, Gary-Bey enjoys jigsaw puzzles, going on bike rides, and of course tending to his garden. Family and loyal friends are extremely important to Gary-Bey. Strong relationships are more important to him than material possessions. In his own words, “Money doesn’t equal riches.”
