We’ll admit it — we’ve been associated with granola from time to time! So I find it only fitting that several of our Local Producer Loan Program recipients produce this iconic health food. After all, it’s as yummy today as it was when we opened 30 years ago — maybe even more so!
Like granola, our support for local producers has been around since the beginning. That’s why we started the Local Producer Loan Program, which has provided almost $4 million in low-interest loans to small, local producers. We’re proud to be helping them grow their businesses and bring more products like these great granolas to market.
Michele’s Granola
Owner: Michele Thornett
Timonium, Maryland
In early 2006, Michele took the first dozen bags of her granola to sell at a local farmers market. It quickly gained followers, and within 18 months, she had moved production into a commercial kitchen where she began baking for local food co-ops and natural food stores. Although Michele’s Granola products are now available in almost 100 retail stores, the granola is still made by hand in small batches. Michele recently moved production to a larger commercial kitchen, and she used her loan to purchase equipment and build out the space.
Michele’s products are currently available in our stores in the Mid-Atlantic region.

![Micheles - PORTRAIT_073[1]](http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Micheles-PORTRAIT_0731.jpg)
On Sept, 21, our newest store in Northern California, Coddingtown in Santa Rosa, officially opened its doors! Along with amazing neighbors, great tacos (for a
Each of these long-time vendors creates just the kind of healthy, all-natural food that we are so proud to offer. 







Favorite coffee shops don’t just serve terrific joe; they also act as a modern-day meeting place. This Eastside spot with Owl Tree coffee and fresh biscuits is the best hangout in town.
We love being able to offer Will Harris’s grass-fed beef to our customers in our South Region stores. And we also love listening to him talk about his family’s fifth-generation Georgia ranch, White Oak Pastures! Edible Radio just did an interview with him about the history of the ranch, his transition from industrial beef to artisanal grass-fed beef, and the state of sustainable agriculture. He also talks about his on-farm processing plant, financed in part by Whole Foods Market’s 
With her success there, she quickly realized the potential of the product, and later that year she even

The Local Producer Loan will help Townshend’s with its expansion plans, providing funding for new equipment, a larger production facility, and additional warehouse space in Portland. For those of you who love kombucha, you’ll be happy to know that the loan is specifically going to support the expansion of Townshend’s line of 



