The Co-op Q&A with Sarah Chinn
By Patrick Pauley
Originally from London, member-owner Sarah Chinn has been in New York since she moved here with her family at age 15. She teaches English at Hunter College, where she is also the department chair, and her hobbies include baking, knitting and kickboxing.
Q: How long have you been a member of the Co-op and what motivated you to join?
A: I was a member of the Co-op since before we were a Co-op! I saw a sign on a lamppost and went to one of the early meetings. I’d already been a member of the Park Slope Coop for about 20 years, but was finding it increasingly difficult to negotiate full-time work, young kids and making it over there to shop and do my hours. I was excited about the possibility of a co-op in our neighborhood.
Q: Can you describe your work at the Co-op? Have your roles and responsibilities changed in the last couple of months with the COVID-19 outbreak and the protests?
A: I’m the chair of the Merchandising Committee (aka Merch), so I help coordinate the folks who buy everything you see on the shelves. I also order most of the dairy, refrigerated and frozen items, and I occasionally help out as a cashier when we’re low on members to fill shifts. During the beginning of the pandemic it was really hard to get hold of popular items due to supply chain and production problems, and Merch worked really hard to get as much as we could into the store. Things have pretty much evened out since then, but the spring was very challenging!
Q: What do you enjoy about your Co-op work?
A: I like knowing that decisions I make have a direct (and I hope positive!) impact on Co-op members. It’s great to receive a product request and be able to get that item on the shelves. It’s especially exciting to do a cashier shift and see items that I ordered being bought by members.
Q: What are your goals in the coming year at the Co-op?
A: I hope that the Merchandising Committee can keep being responsive to members, even if that means letting them know that things they would like us to stock aren’t practical for a store our size. We can always be better communicators!
Q: Has the Co-op changed the way you interact with food? If so, how?
A: I’ve always tried to be pretty conscious of what I eat. I was a vegetarian for years, so thinking about food and where it comes from is important for me. I love the number of local producers we can support, and recently Merch has been focusing on increasing products from BIPOC-owned companies, especially if they’re in the New York region.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to shop for at the Co-op?
A: It’s a tie between the Lioni Ricotta and the Evolved chocolate coconut cups.
Q: What’s your favorite hidden—or not so hidden—gem about the Co-op?
A: The Vigilant Eats oatmeal mixes are fantastic! Now that the colder weather is here, I’m pretty excited about those.
Q: Anything you’d like to see more of at the Co-op, whether it’s a product or practice?
A: I’m still holding out for us to get a beer license!