Cooperator of the Month: Yoshiko Kendall

When she joined Weavers Way: Summer 2014, with her husband, Stephen, shortly after they moved to the area.

Lives in: Mt. Airy

Former job: She was a kindergarten teacher at Waldorf schools in a few different cities. They moved several times over the years to accommodate Stephen’s job changes. He’s a professor emeritus of architecture from Ball State University in Muncie, IN. He also taught at Marymount University in Arlington, VA, and the University of Colorado, Boulder, among others.

Why they joined: They both come from a long tradition of eating organically. Yoshiko grew up on a farm in southwest Japan, near Hiroshima. They belonged to the Limit Avenue Co-op in St. Louis in the 1970s and to buying clubs in Boulder and Muncie.

Why she’s a working member: “First of all, I wanted to know the organization here and how things worked. And also, [I wanted to] get to know people, because we were new in town.”

Fun family fact: Their daughter, Yumi, is the assistant principal cellist for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Their son, Nicholas, lives in Washington, DC and is a violinist with Time for Three, a classically trained string trio that performs in a variety of musical genres. Both are alums of the Curtis Institute.

Favorite Co-op products: Chalk up two more fans of The Incredible Bulk. She does her own baking, and buys wheatberries in bulk to grind into flour for bread. They also enjoy the cheese and tea selections.

A little Co-op love: “I think it’s vibrant, and it’s really friendly. I like the people who work there. They make me feel welcomed and like I’m a part of the community. I go to [Fit Life] in the morning and I see people there, and then I see them here. It’s a tight-knit community.”

— Karen Plourde