You may know him as “Mitch from Miles”.  But he is, in fact, Mitchell—and he is now from Honest Weight.  Mitchell has been with Honest Weight for the past 3.5 years.  He came to us because we have the best selection of foods in the area that meet his desire for high quality, whole foods.  Mitchell became interested in healthy foods after both his grandmother and mother died of cancer.  The medical professionals spoke of the illnesses as genetically determined, Mitchell decided not to sit back passively—there might be something he could do to protect himself, despite what the professionals thought.  He decided to tackle this problem with an improved diet.

In the late 1970s, Albany’s lower Central Avenue—near the present Social Justice Center—was a hotbed for natural foods lovers.  There were two or three natural foods stores and a natural foods restaurant.  Mitchell worked in the Earthly Health Food Store, known to its friends and neighbors as “The Store”.  He believed that this was the right location for such a store, but could see the need for some improvements in the way it was being managed.  When the store closed, he opened his own, and this is where many of us first met him.  I, for one, will always remember my favorite lunches there when I was first exploring Albany—the delicious hummus sandwiches followed by a huge carob chip cookie for dessert.

Mitchell calls his old store an “old fashioned, hard core, whole foods store”.  Retail has many rewards, says, Mitchell, but it can also be very stressful.  After 15 years of that work, he decided that it was time for a change.  He sold the store and took a cross-country bicycle trip.  He said it was like once again being a kid on summer vacation.  After the trip he moved to Virginia, where he managed another natural foods store.  But he missed his friends and family, and eventually cam back home to Albany—and soon became part of Honest Weight.

Mitchell has a wealth of knowledge about all aspects of the natural food business and believes that natural food stores and cooperatives are comfortable places for him.  He enjoys the people with whom he works here at Honest Weight, and enjoys the high quality of products we supply.  He would like to see the store grow and expand so that we can have an even larger number of food choices for the people who shop here.  He’d like to see enough variety so that we could attract lots of new people to our store.

In the store, Mitchell can be found in the health and Beauty Aids department.  He says we have an inordinate number of items available and an excellent selection of vitamins, supplements, herbs, cosmetics and related supplies.  While we have an excellent selection, we can’t possibly keep everything there is in stock—so, he ways, we have a responsibility to give our customers lots of help, filling special orders for them whenever the need arises.

Each day, Mitchell has a salad for lunch.  Therefore, he especially appreciates the mesclun we carry.  He always has lots of greens easily available at the Co-op, some of which he would not otherwise dig into.  He is also a lover of chocolate.  He is glad that we have so many healthy chocolates available, so he can indulge in this pleasure without worry.  Salad lovers, chocolate lovers, and others will find Mitchell to be a great help to them as they shop the cooperative way.  Stop by and say hello to him.  He’s often busy stocking and ordering, but he does have a clear dedication to serving you, our members and customers.