KC Kosher Co-op offers a wide variety of kosher foods for comparatively low prices.
Run by husband and wife Chaim and Katie White, the co-op aims to provide access to affordable, kosher foods for Jewish communities across Kansas City and far beyond.
The “KC” in KC Co-op stands for Katie and Chaim but also for Kansas City. The co-op sells more than 4,200 products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, beef, chicken, cheese, milk and packaged products. Its top three bestsellers are David Elliot chicken leg quarters, Mehadrin chocolate leben and fresh and frozen gefilte fish.
The Whites started providing kosher food to Kansas Citians in 2008 by way of a seemingly unlikely city: Dallas, Texas.
That’s where Chaim’s parents and sisters lived, and Dallas had a kosher food co-op. About 15 years ago, the Whites were planning to visit Chaim’s family. They placed a kosher order with the Dallas co-op, loaded coolers into their van and “picked up a ton of kosher food” to bring back home, Chaim said.
On their drive back, they talked about the co-op and figured that if it could arrange for a distributor to ship to Dallas, then that distributor could also ship to Kansas City. They thought, “Let’s just mimic the model and do that,” Chaim said.
They got back home and called the Dallas co-op’s coordinator, who then contacted its distributor, Twin City Poultry in Minneapolis, MInnesota, and asked whether they would ship products to Kansas City. They would.
One of the challenges of working with the Dallas co-op was that it would print out spreadsheets with thousands of products when customers called to place orders. Chaim, whose day job is as a managing director for Ireland-based technology company Accenture, quickly put the process online in 2005. He and Katie hadn’t started their co-op yet; they served as a central, coordinating family to get kosher food delivered to Kansas City.
Once customers found them online, they realized the Whites operated one of the few places that had even obscure kosher products.
“People would contact us,” Chaim said. “We were like, ‘That’s awesome; go to your local store, because we’re just getting products for our friends.’”
The Whites soon realized they had a viable business model. Customers flocked to them because their prices were between 25% and 40% lower than in stores. So, they incorporated as KC Kosher Co-op (kckoshercoop.com) in late 2008.
A problem soon arose, though: The distributor said co-ops were “a complete pain.” It supplied the Dallas co-op and two others, in Minneapolis and Atlanta, Georgia.
In a co-op, Chaim said, “We’re dealing with — no offense — 50 picky Jews who are trying to treat us as if we’re the store, and we’re just not set up that way. So, we said we’re happy to take over the co-ops, bear that burden and gain that revenue.”
The Whites bought the three co-ops for a symbolic fee of $1 and went from one to four cities in one swoop. Members pay no membership fee. Low prices attract customers, but they must buy products by the case, not individually like they can at retail stores.
KC Kosher Co-op enables customers to band together, buy in bulk — with a minimum $3,000 monthly order — and split the cost and the products, which creates a community atmosphere.
“These people sometimes meet this way and become friends,” Chaim said.
Groups of customers must work together to pick up products when they’re delivered. All customers must observe the same monthly deadline for ordering and pick up their products at the same time and place. KC Kosher Co-op usually delivers to a Jewish day school or synagogue.
In the Kansas City area, the co-op delivers to the parking lot of Congregation Beth Israel Abraham & Voliner (BIAV) in Overland Park.
KC Kosher functions with a unique model that enables the Whites to earn a livelihood, while customers benefit from low prices because of bulk buying.
The co-op has more than 5,000 members in 28 cities, compared to about 40 families when the Whites started it. They employ five full- and part-time people, “a great team.” Chaim handles business strategy and Katie manages the finances.
When Twin City Poultry closed shop, the Whites used another distributor for a year. They couldn’t be competitive because they must sell at prices at least 25% lower than is typical to have a viable model. Instead, they decided to control the entire process. In the Kansas City area, they have one rented warehouse and two refrigerated trucks. They order poultry directly from poultry plants.
The Whites keep a presence in each city they serve by sponsoring events and causes, including partnering with local food pantries. For the past 10 years, they have matched donations dollar for dollar.
Chaim and Katie came to Kansas City traveling for work in 2001 and relocated here in 2002 because “we wanted to join the warm, vibrant Jewish community here,” Chaim said. They live in Overland Park and attend BIAV. As one would expect, they are strictly kosher.
Chaim is 44 and Katie is 45. They will celebrate their 21st anniversary Jan. 9. They have six children: Matan, Shoshana, Nachman, Noam-Eliezer, Orli and Ben-Tzion.
The Whites’ essential motivation to run their co-op is that it’s “expensive to be an observant Jew,” Chaim said.
“We feel like people should be able to eat,” he said. “Food is a little bit of a passion. Katie does catering on the side. … When we enter a city, the kosher ecosystem improves. … We really feel the impact of serving the community. Granted, we are a business. But to have a business that’s a win-win, providing meaningful products and services — that’s very fulfilling.”
