•Update 2/2/2010•

In just two weeks, customers at 289 stores in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. donated nearly $1.7 million to a variety of relief organizations, including Action Against Hunger, American Red Cross, AmeriCares, Doctors Without Borders, Food for the Poor and Partners in Health.

Whole Foods Market’s Team Members contributed more than $58,400 to a special “Haitian Fund” to support fellow Team Members whose friends and family have been affected by the earthquake. Whole Foods Market has nearly 2,000 Haitian Team Members working in its stores.

Through our Whole Planet Foundation, Whole Foods Market provided $1 million to Fonkoze, allowing the microcredit organization to be among the first to provide banking services to people in Haiti following the earthquake.

Haiti-based Fonkoze serves more than 55,000 women borrowers and 1 million families who receive remittances from relatives and friends abroad, and has been a partner of Whole Planet Foundation since March 2009.  The Whole Planet Foundation contribution allowed Fonkoze to rebuild critical infrastructure and open its branch offices, giving Haitians access to cash, money transfers and much-needed loans to re-establish their businesses.

“Whole Foods Market’s gift is the largest single contribution that Fonkoze has received and more importantly, it was delivered to us less than a week after the earthquake,” says Anne Hastings, director of Fonkoze Financial Services.  “Thanks to this immediate financial assistance, we were the first bank to open in Haiti, allowing us to get much-needed cash to our customers and microloans to members who need to re-establish their businesses. This is a first and major step toward economic recovery for Haiti.”

While not surprised by the out-pouring of cash donations, we are extremely humbled and grateful that our customers and Team Members contributed to help so many others in need. Thank you.

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We want to extend our appreciations to the hundreds of folks who responded to two of our holiday giveaways: Jim Brickman’s Bag of Goodies and Beautiful World.

In all of the holiday madness, we forgot to announce the winners who received Better Bags filled with grocery goodies and Jim Brickman merchandise!  So here’s a quick congratulations to Cathy Price and Robin O’Sullivan.  Keep an eye out for more contests, giveaways and fun promotions coming up throughout the year.

We hope that you are all having a delightful last day of 2009!

Need some last minute help in ringing in the New Year?  Check out our Champagne Primer to make sure you’re serving the perfect bubbly for your taste and budget.  Having guests over?  Take a look at our Entertaining with Wine and Cheese guide.  And remember, above all else – celebrate safely and responsibly!

It’s that time of year again – when we examine our waistlines and lifestyle choices and set ambitious goals for the New Year. We’ve got lots of suggestions to share throughout the month of January, but we wanted to kick it all off with three very special ones we’re focusing on and a way for you to join in!

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Wow, we’ve got some creative shortcut chefs out there, chock full of creative ideas for saving time in the kitchen without sacrificing quality. From stocking up on fresh veggies in season and freezing them yourselves to inventive uses of rotisserie chicken to “cheating” with our Prepared Foods and Bakery selection – there’s lots of wonderful ways to save both time and money in our dinnertime pursuits.

And without further ado, this week’s randomly selected* winner…

Denice H:

If I am in need of a quick meal, I turn to soup. It is healthy, tastful, and easy. However, all the chopping,washing,peeling of the vegetables can be a pain. Instead I just open a jar of good quality mild salsa and add it to chicken stock. It is a great, quick foundation for many soups. It already has the mirepoix plus a nice small amount of heat.

Denice will be receiving a $100 gift card! We hope you enjoyed “value contest month” on our blog during October. For more giveaways, check out our Facebook Fridays and Twitter Thursdays for more weekly contests throughout the holidays.

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* This comment was randomly chosen using random.org.

With tight budgets, lots of cooks are turning to their home kitchens to recreate their restaurant favorites. We’re happy to hear lots of you out there being ambitious and creative with your culinary endeavors! Check out our winning entry for this past week’s Value Guru contest:

Congratulations to our randomly selected* winner…

Docletic:

Pasta Pomodoro in San Francisco bay area has a simple butter sauted bay leaf butternut squash ravioli recipe that I have made at home using store bought Japanese noodle/dumpling dough wraps. I’d love a better recipe. Also, the pomogranate martinis at Longhorns steakhouse – to die for. The cactus pears are good to, but nothing like pomogranate.

Docletic will be receiving a $50 gift card and three of our favorite cookbooks! Keep an eye out tomorrow and all this month for more great value giveaways on The Whole Story!

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* This comment was randomly chosen using random.org.

Last week, we thought we did pretty well with over 300 responses to the “Get the Good Stuff for Less” Value Guru giveaway. This week, we had over 1000 responses to the “What is your favorite 365 Everyday Value product?” question.  A big thanks to you all for sharing your faves with us!

Congratulations to our randomly selected* winner…

CadesMom:

I love your 365 semi-sweet chocolate chips! I make the 30 mile trip to get them whenever it’s time to bake cookies and brownies. I also buy in bulk! They have the richest, chocolaty-est taste. Wonderful!

CadesMom will be receiving a $50 gift card and a Better Bag loaded with some of our 365 Everyday Value favorites (and her favorite 365 semi-sweet chocolate chips!). Keep an eye out tomorrow and all this month for more great value giveaways on The Whole Story!

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* This comment was randomly chosen using random.org.

Wow!  We received over 300 responses to this past week’s Value Guru giveaway, where you shared how you get the good stuff for less.  Thank you all for your great tips and congratulations to our randomly selected* winner…

Liana: I shop sales, buy store brands (Helllllloooo 365 Everyday Value products!), buy in bulk when possible, buy dried instead of canned (ex: dry beans are usually less expensive than canned beans), and in general shop at Whole Foods! Oh, and make a meal plan for the week & stick to it — that really helps, too!

Liana will be receiving a $50 gift card and a Better Bag loaded with some of our pantry favorites.  Keep an eye out tomorrow and all this month for more great value giveaways on The Whole Story!

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* This comment was randomly chosen using random.org.

While I am many years past high school stress and teenage angst, I do fondly remember my adolescent penchant for challenging authority. (Some may argue it never went away!) Around thirteen, the simplicity of childhood started to melt away and suddenly, I was a teenager, looking to discover who I was and how to change the world around me. Now, of course, no teenager wants their parents looking over their shoulder. Yet, in hindsight, I think there are subtle ways that parents can influence the direction of their teens’ world-changing missions. Making sure they are aware of the many issues surrounding our food supply is an excellent place to start – and one where they can take action by voting with their fork three times a day.

Today, we have more media unveiling the truths behind the Standard American Diet, our over-consumptive consumer culture and our modern food system as a whole than ever before. To this end, we would like to offer you some ideas on how to bring home the message without having to personally be the preacher.

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We’ve partnered with Chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. “The Renegade Lunch Lady,” to help schools make a change. Chef Ann has already transformed the school lunch experience for tens of thousands of children across America by helping their schools switch from processed foods to fresh, natural ingredients and scratch-made meals.

Today – Friday, August 28 at 1 p.m. PST/4 p.m. EST, Ann Cooper will be answering YOUR questions about school lunch reform and what you can do to help make simple, yet revolutionary changes to school lunch programs in your area.

Note: You must have a Facebook or Twitter account in order to submit questions, but anyone can watch the live chat video on Facebook.  Check out the link below for more information on how to participate.

Participate in the live chat on Facebook