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

I am submitting my husband Cliff for the Father’s day drawing.

He has been a great father to our two sons and for them the sun rises and sets on him.  Cliff had bypass surgery 2 years ago at age 54 and has recently taken a liking to organic veggies and other products and has become more aware of eating for good health. We would like to help him become healthier with good foods to eat so that we will have him around for many years to come. He is so deserving as he is the most giving person of himself.

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?

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.

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Wow! We received nearly 300 comments on our SXSW Food Blogger Bash post.  Thank you to everyone who left us a note; we love hearing from you guys!

And without further ado, the winner of the SXSW Gift Bag Giveaway is… Comment #3 from Michele Pineda!

Congratulations, Michele and thanks again to everyone for posting!

After four days of running between panels, keynote speakers and core conversations during the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Conference, I was exhausted and needed refuge from the madness of the Austin Convention Center.

Thankfully, I’d received an invite to the Austin360.com SXSW Food & Wine Blogger Bash, sponsored by Whole Foods Market and Go Texan and hosted at our flagship store’s wonderful Lamar Culinary Center. Little known fact – I started with Whole Foods Market as catering staff for the Lamar Culinary Center, so I know the place well and was very pleased with how the cooking school space was transformed to house not only a foodie meet & greet, but also wine tastings from the GO TEXAN wine program and demonstrations from two of the best chefs in town – Tyson Cole from Uchi and Jesse Griffiths from Dai Due Supper Club.

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We thought we’d get in on the fun and post our own “25 Random Things” list. How many of these did you know about us? Do you have a favorite fact about us that has missed our list?

1. Several times a year, our stores hold community giving days (known as “5% Days”) where five percent of that day’s net sales are donated to a local nonprofit or educational organization.
2. Margaret Wittenberg, our Vice President of Global Quality Standards and Public Affairs, was the only retail representative on the board which created the U.S. National Organic Standards.
3. We stopped using disposable plastic bags at checkout on Earth Day 2008, keeping 150 million plastic bags out of the landfills since then.
4. We started with 19 Team Members in 1980, and several of them are still with us!
5. An old joke about our first store was that people confused it for a Volkswagen car dealership because of all the VW Beetles in the parking lot. Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday… hmm.  What are my plans for Sunday?  Well, I think I’ll kick off the morning with an aerial dance class, work my way through halftime with some local theater and make my final touchdown with having some friends over my place for a writer’s workshop.  Is there something I’m forgetting?

Oh right, it’s Game Day!  Well, whether this Sunday will be a football filled frenzy or just another beautiful weekend day, try out some of these great Game Day tips!

Each week we’ve been choosing customer tips to be featured in our weekly The Whole Deal™ blog post, and every chosen tip received a $25 gift card. This weekly giveaway ends this week with these last three tips!  We wanted to thank you all for your great ideas and hope that you continue to share this great info with each other in our Forums.

From Renee:

Here are some tips for how our family will have healthy and fun snacks for the game that will score praise without tackling our money.

Dips and healthy dipping options.

The kids love to make a sweet dip by mixing: vanilla yogurt with small amounts of vanilla, honey, maple syrup and raisins. Sweet dip for pretzels or your own pita chips (small pieces of pita bread cooked at 350 degrees for 8 minutes in oven). Tastes great with cut up fruit and carrot or celery sticks.

It’s fun to make your own guacamole (moderate spice level): mix two mashed avocados with cut-up red or green peppers, one small red onion, three tablespoons of fresh minced garlic, pinch of chile paste, four teaspoons of fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice and one jar tomato paste (or cut up some tomatoes).

To dip…we make sweet potato or regular potato chips baked with olive oil and sea salt and black pepper in the oven (10 minutes for 350 degrees).

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