Here’s a huge shout out to the amazing team members at Whole Foods Market. It has been two years since we started the Whole Planet Foundation Team Member Giving program. This is where team members can choose to have money donated from each paycheck to empower the poorest of the poor with a chance to lift themselves out of poverty. As you probably know by now, Whole Planet Foundation was created by Whole Foods Market with the mission of alleviating poverty through microcredit in global communities that supply our stores with product. This mission resonates with over 12,000 team members who make a difference every two weeks.

Over 12,000 team members have given

$745,000 through their paychecks to empower

19,000 impoverished people with access to microcredit

to change their lives.

Here’s what some of those team members had to say about why they donate. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment #350 *
Leela of Morrison, TN
Her favorite festival food is veggie corn dogs with mustard!

Leela will be receiving two general admission tickets to one of the greenest festivals around, Bonnaroo!  The festival runs from June 11th – 14th and Whole Foods Market will be right in the middle of the action in Planet Roo with our well stocked natural and organic general store, open daily from 10am – 2am.  Visit us for delicious treats and staples such as frozen fruit bars, fresh fruit and veggies, wheatgrass shots, organic string cheese, gluten-free granola, vitamins and more, plus goodies from our supporting partners: Lifeway Kefir, ONE Natural Experience, Qbel, Talenti Gelato, and Greek God Yogurt.Leela will be receiving two general admission tickets to one of the greenest festivals around, Bonnaroo!  Visit us for delicious treats and staples such as frozen fruit bars, fresh fruit and veggies, hummus, organic string cheese, gluten-free granola, vitamins and more, plus goodies from our supporting partners: Lifeway Kefir, ONE Natural Experience, Qbel, Talenti Gelato, and Greek God Yogurt.

Check out our full product selection and other cool info on our Whole Foods Bonnaroo Facebook page.  See you in Manchester, TN!

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* This comment was randomly chosen using random.org.  No, we didn’t look for someone from Tennessee who happened to live in a town fourteen miles from the festival.  It was a complete coincidence.  We thought about tossing it out and re-doing the random selection but that wouldn’t have been fair, would it?

I’m not a huge fan of eating outdoors, but I am always up for making anything into an event if it includes sharing food with others. Therefore, I eat it, so to speak, when invited to a picnic or BBQ or outdoor potluck. Then I spend days obsessing about what to bring and run a million ideas through my head, mentally balancing my budget with the amount of time and effort I’m willing to put into that specific gathering at that specific time.

I usually settle for pasta salad. I say “settle” because it always seems like a cheap copout to me. I think of how many times I’ve peered closely (and hopefully discreetly) at the unidentifiable “bits” and sauces that make up someone else’s potluck bowl of pasta salad and skip it for something more easy to recognize as food. I think also of all the wonderful foods I know about and enjoy putting into a meal and how I don’t want to “insult” great ingredients by tossing them into something that might be unidentifiable to some other discriminating potluck guest. Read the rest of this entry »

In the back yard of our home in Aptos, CA, we have a cherry tree. It’s easily as old as our house and about as tall (40 feet at its highest point). The variety is Queen Anne – a yellow cherry with a red blush that sizes very well and has excellent flavor. We moved in our home towards the end of April last year, just as the tree was finishing its bloom. From May through mid June I excitedly watched the fruit get larger and color change from green to a yellow/red. Midway through the second week in June, I decided they were ready and planned to harvest them with my son the following Saturday – the fruit was plump and beautiful; a few more days on the tree I thought, and the sugar would be just right. Read the rest of this entry »

Even with the best intentions, it seems that sunburn sneaks its way into each and every summer for some of us.  And it’s just not summer without suffering some scrapes and bruises. Learn how to soothe and protect your skin with essential oils, vitamins, herbal ointments and homeopathic remedies. Malia Curran, MS, MPH, is a nutrition and health consultant.

For a summary of this and our other summer podcasts, click here!

Podcast: Download

Seems like we’ve hit a tipping point – lots of people (especially Jamie Lee Curtis) are talking about getting “regular” and everybody’s jumping on the probiotic bandwagon these days. So, what are these probiotics and what do they do for us?

When you get sick, you may take an antibiotic. Probiotics, on the other hand, may help you stay well. “Biotic” means “relating to life” so probiotic basically means “supportive of life.” There are hundreds of different species of these friendly organisms colonizing our digestive track and competing with potentially harmful pathogens. Here at Whole Foods Market, we’ve known about this good stuff for a very long time, and we continue to offer foods and supplements that contain these ever-popular bacteria.

Read the rest of this entry »

Memorial Day is here again and the usual way to pass the day is to grill and drink beer. I am lucky in the fact that my mom and dad home brew their beers so we always have a plethora of beers to choose from! Each year we line up the coolers filled to the brim with beers and ice in the shade of the pecan tree. Dad always tries to brew something new and we have had everything from a chocolate stout to pair with pork ribs or a crisp pilsner to complement my mom’s spicy chicken, but for this little vegetarian and my grilled portobello mushroom, I always like clean kolsh ale.

Here are a few more tips for pairing the perfect beer with your food. If you have spicy foods and you need to help cut the heat, grab a beer with light hops, like a pale ale or German Hefeweizen. And don’t be scared of the dark beers — stouts are known to bring out the smokey flavors in meat.

Not everyone has a home brewer in the family like me, so swing by your local Whole Foods Market beer and wine department. We have beer in every color and style! Whatever the menu at your Memorial Day get-together, always remember to stomp Prohibition and grab a 6-pack or two!

Note: Due to varying local regulations, beer and wine are not available in all of our stores.

Kat Seymour has been with Whole Foods Market since 2002 and has worked in our Beer and Wine department for the last three years. Her background with beer and wine started at a young age due to her parents home brewing, but she didn’t have her first beer until the responsible age of 21.

I am so proud to announce that Whole Foods Market has recently hit a total of $2.5 million in loans through our Local Producer Loan Program! That’s over a million dollars a year for the past two years in financing to help local farmers and food artisans expand their businesses. That’s a lot of change!

When we launched the program in 2007, the state of the economy was very different. Yet despite the nationwide tightening of credit from banks and credit cards, Whole Foods Market has continued to make low-interest loans to help producers grow their businesses. The numbers speak for themselves:

Number of loan recipients: 41
Number of states with loan recipients: 18
Average loan: $52,292

We’ve also been able to work with a wide variety of producers. Products include kombucha, potting soil, ice cream (regular & non-dairy), organic produce, wine sorbet, raw chocolate, grassfed beef, and raw, vegan, gluten-free granola.

Here’s a breakdown:

Agricultural products: 17
Artisan/processed food: 23
Body care products: 1

We’re also pleased to have worked with many women business owners! Eight of the businesses that have received loans are owned by women, with an additional nine co-owned by women.

One of the more interesting aspects of Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program is the ability to apply for additional financing at a later date. If a loan recipient continues to grow after receipt of a loan, they can apply for a second loan to help them with their business activities. Five of our producers have taken advantage of this aspect of the program, with great results. Two have even received third loans!

We are excited to have hit this milestone, and we want to hit even more – we plan to provide up to $10 million in loans through the program. Think you or someone you know might help us hit $3 million? Check out our website to learn more about the program and to find out how to apply.

What do Bruce Springsteen, bio-diesel generators and Whole Foods Market all have in common?  We will all be at Bonnaroo 2009 from June 11th – 14th!   Want to be there too? Read on for info about winning tickets!

So, some of you may be asking, “What is Bonnaroo?” Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival is a four-day, multi-stage camping festival held every June on a beautiful 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. The festival brings together over 120 of the nation’s top acts and emerging artists in rock and roll, jazz, Americana, hip-hop, electronica and just about any contemporary music you can think of. Every year, 90,000 attendees from all across the country descend upon Bonnaroo to witness dozens of epic performances as well as experience around-the-clock attractions and activities, including a discotheque arcade, onsite cinema, comedy theater, silent disco, beer festival, environmental and music technology villages and street theater performers to name a few.

Read the rest of this entry »

Cookout season is just around the corner, and nothing accompanies a juicy burger, grilled chicken or classic hot dog better than a pasta salad. Traditional pasta and potato salads are often made with a mayonnaise base that is high in calories and fat. As tasty as these side dishes are, there are some healthier options out there that taste just as delicious!

Sue, one of our Whole Story readers, sent us an idea for an orzo salad recipe makeover just in time for the season. This salad uses an oil-and-lemon dressing for a lighter profile. We boosted the nutrition in this already healthy recipe by adding plenty of vegetables for their nutritional attributes as well as eye-catching appeal.

Check out the recipe we developed for Orzo Salad with Broccoli and Tomatoes.

(Click through on the link above for the full recipe, including comments and ratings!)

• Tripling the broccoli adds calcium, fiber, potassium, vitamin C, folate and vitamin K. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, and like other cruciferous vegetables, is an excellent nutrient-rich addition to any salad.
• Grape tomatoes add potassium, vitamin A, fiber and vitamin C , not to mention flavor and bright color.
• Even green onions are good for you! They contribute potassium and vitamins.
• Olives, pine nuts and feta add tons of flavor to complement the veggies and mild orzo pasta.

This side dish is packed with essential vitamins and minerals, making it a great substitute for mayonnaise-based pasta and potato salads. Create your own variation on this salad by mixing up the combination of vegetables. Some nutrient-dense options include radishes, bell peppers of any color, red cabbage, cucumber, spinach or carrots. Choosing a variety of colors is appealing to the eye and helps you get the nutrients you need to be healthy.

You’ll be a favorite guest at summer cookouts with this salad in your repertoire. Enjoy!

Send us Your Recipe Request!

Do you have a recipe you’d like us to make natural? Post it in the comments section below! If we select your recipe for a healthy makeover and publish the improved version on our website, we’ll send you a $25 Whole Foods Market gift card.