Cooperators of the Month: Penka Slavova & Dave Greene

Joined Weavers Way: 2000, shortly after moving from New York City.

Live in: West Mt. Airy, less than a block from the store

Current jobs: Penka is the coordinator of the Homestay program at Germantown Friends School, which arranges for international students to live with hosts or host families for a year while they’re attending GFS. Dave teaches at Constitution High School in Center City’s historic district, and is the special-education liaison there.

Family facts: They have three children: Lily, 19, Isabella, 17, and Graham, 14. Lily is a sophomore at Davidson College in North Carolina. Isabella is a senior at Central High, and Graham is an eighth grader at GFS.

Why they’re Working Members: “Definitely the discount, but I think it’s a great thing for the kids. And it’s part of the experience.” Lily did Co-op hours in high school, and Isabella will soon. Dave is a former member of Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn.

Co-op job history: Dave’s done truck unloading; Penka likes to work in the Bulk Department. Penka: “I always fantasize when the kids are older, I’ll be on the Board.”

Favorite Co-op products: The produce (“I really feel like there’s a difference”), milk, baguettes. Dave likes GT's kombucha and the cheeses. Penka shops at the Co-op daily and almost exclusively. “I probably go to Giant three or four times a year.”

A little Co-op love: “For me, it’s like a comfort so much of the time. Besides that I believe in what I’m buying and feeding my kids. . . . On a personal level, I come back from work and I go into the store, and it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m almost home.’ It feels like an extension of our home.”

— Karen Plourde

For information on the Homestay program for international students, email Penka at penkaslavova@gmail.com.