Member
Worker Profile: Kathy Koch
by
Christy Articola
Kathy
Koch and
the Honest
Weight Food Coop go way back. She has been a cashier here for nearly 27
years.
Looking back, she remembers a tiny “bare bones” store with no
refrigeration.
She is in awe at how much we’ve grown. “When I first started working as
a
cashier,” she recalls, “I was able to bring my one-year-old twins to
work with
me and let them play in a playpen next to the register during my shift.
You
certainly couldn’t do that today!” Kathy first began shopping at the
Coop after
another natural foods grocery on Central Avenue, The Store, shut
down in the 1970s. Her
husband still teases her about following fads and about the trendiness
that
first drew her to this type of shopping. “They sold granola there,
which as the
time was kind of trendy,” she says. She soon discovered other organic
and bulk
items as well, and when she found Honest Weight it was love at first
sight.
Today, she is a big fan of our produce and our cheeses. And she also
loves the
products we carry by Avalon. During her long stretch with us, Kathy
never
really worked in any of our other departments — she has always
preferred cashiering.
The reason, she explains, is that she loves the interactions with the
people.
“Sometimes I see people I haven’t seen in years,” she says, adding that
she
recently ran into a girl she used to babysit years ago all grown up.
Kathy also
likes using our fancy cash register computers, which she always does
with a
smile during her weekly 3-to-7 shift each Saturday.
Although
Kathy grew up in suburban New Jersey,
she has
been an Albany
resident
for the past 37 years. During the last 31 of those years, she has spent
her
days providing daycare services for children in her home during the
week. She
also cares for her 97-year-old mother who lives with her. Kathy has
been
married to her husband Rich for over 40 years, and they raised five
children together.
In her free
time, Kathy enjoys riding her bike to the Coop and everywhere — “except
in rain
and snow!” She also loves listening to music from the 1930s, ’40s and
’50s and
watching movies — especially dramas. Yoga and meditation are two other
activities she enjoys as well.
Kathy
loves being a part of Honest Weight. When asked what she likes best
about being
a part of the Coop, she first responds that she loves the feeling of
camaraderie.
After a minute, though, she adds with a smile, “And of course the great
food!”
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