Gail Bilto was born in Detroit, Michigan, in the first half of the 1940s. She is also a descendant of Finnish-American families who settled in Michigan during the five decades of mass Finnish immigration to Michigan, Minnesota, and Ontario, Canada through the 1920s. She left her home state in 1978 and moved to New York City. Bilto currently calls the city her home. Her work history includes holding positions as a waitress, bartender, and for a market research firm. Starting in 1988, Bilto began working for farmers in the GrowNYC Greenmarkets found around the city, selling fresh food and farmers’ products, mostly at the Union Square Greenmarket. She retired in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Bilto is related to Rudy Owens through their maternal families and separated by one generation.