Malu Hernandez
Assistant in Technical Production

“Amy’s is like a family to me. Even though there were only a few people in the beginning and now there are a lot, I still feel the same way.”

Malu Hernandez has the distinction of being one of Amy’s first employees. Amy’s created its first dish— the Veggie Pot Pie-- in April of 1988 and Malu came on board in October. Born in the Mexican State of Oaxaca, Malu initially worked on the assembly line. She and the other 6 (Amy’s now has 818!) line-workers filled the Pot Pie crusts with vegetables.

Malu’s hard-working enthusiasm contributed to the company’s growth and, within 6 months time, the company rewarded her talent with a promotion into the world of Packaging. She introduced and managed the machine that puts the pies into their boxes and then adapted the system to other products in the growing product line.

Four years later, Malu moved into Production and has since become our Assistant in Technical Production. In this position, Malu has found her niche. Coworkers frequently cite her as the person to best figure out how to get the food actually made on the line. Bret Mohar, the Director of Manufacturing, describes her this way: “Malu is one of the shortest people in the plant, yet she stands the tallest when it comes to care and understanding of Amy's products. Everyone turns to Malu whenever a question arises about how to make a product.” Bret tells of the time Malu saw a temporary employee struggling to roll an enchilada. “She stood next to the employee and gave her some tips. The employee was very grateful and asked, ‘Who are you?’ Malu responded, ‘Why, I'm Malu.’ In this moment, this exchange, I realized Malu is a superhero who had just saved the day!”

Appropriately, Amy’s Operation Planning Manager, Ken Sloane, tells of Malu’s superhero quality with regards to her own family. “She had been the leader, in many ways, of her family before she came here. She has helped and supported her family in Mexico, all her siblings, and of course now has 2 wonderful children. Some people are born leaders I guess— like Malu.”