THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS. CONGRATULATIONS TO TARA FROM ANN ANBOR, MICHIGAN! SHE’S THE WINNER OF THE LOCAL PRODUCT GIFT BASKET!

Good news – as of this week, Whole Foods Market has funded $4 million in low-interest loans for small, local producers through our Local Producer Loan Program!

Even better news – that money has helped our neighborhood farmers, bakers, artisans, mom-and-pop shops (you name it) grow their businesses and bring hundreds of high quality products into our stores for our customers to enjoy.

The best news – to celebrate the milestone, we’re giving away a basket full of goodies made by some of our loan recipients!  It’s simple. Just enter a comment below by March 22nd telling us why you love your local producers and you have a chance to win! We’ll choose one lucky comment at random to receive the basket.

Why did we start the Local Producer Loan Program? Whole Foods Market recognizes that small businesses (even with high quality products and a viable business plan) sometimes need a hand to reach their big dreams. So in 2007, we launched the Local Producer Loan Program with a commitment to fund up to $10 million dollars in low-interest loans. After all, it’s our hard-working local producers and their unique offerings that give each of our stores its one-of-a-kind flavor and pizzazz.

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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.

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If you haven’t tried Justin’s nut butters yet, then December’s the month to make it happen. Sure I’m a little partial to their outrageously yummy flavor combinations such as maple almond, honey peanut and chocolate hazelnut. And I really like the convenient, carry-anywhere squeeze packs I take on hikes. And I have a small bias because Whole Foods Market was Justin’s first retail outlet and we helped him grow his business with our Local Producer Loan Program.

Yes, those are all great reasons but I really think you should try Justin’s this month because for every jar of nut butter sold in December, Justin’s will donate $1 to the Conscious Alliance!

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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 good cause), and the first drinks at our new Tap Room (16 beers on tap!), we also had a chance to celebrate the two newest Local Producer Loan recipients in Northern California, Grindstone Bakery and Lydia’s Organics.

Each of these long-time vendors creates just the kind of healthy, all-natural food that we are so proud to offer. Grindstone Bakery’s owner and baker Mario Repetto produces artisan wheat-free, whole grain breads and cookies, while Lydia Kindheart of Lydia’s Organics creates dehydrated foods made of raw, organic, vegan ingredients. Both will be using their loans to help expand production.

In fact, not only did Lydia and Mario help us break the bread, Mario baked it! Check out some photos from the opening.

Join fourth-generation cattleman Will Harris and “Fan Favorite” Chef Kevin Gillespie on Will’s ranch, White Oak Pastures, as they discuss what makes grass-fed beef so unique.

Will explains, “White Oak Pastures works in cooperation with nature to produce premium quality beef that is healthy, nutritious, and good to eat. Care is given to ensure that all of our production practices are economically practical, ecologically sustainable, and that the animals are always humanely treated.”

Established in 1866, White Oak Pastures is comprised of 18 different farms in and around Southwestern Georgia. Will grazes the five thousand-plus cattle on 100% Georgia native sweet grasses. With the help of a loan from Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program, Will recently built an on-farm processing facility designed for low-stress animal handling while also minimizing the environmental impact.

True to our commitment to support our local communities, we partner with grass-fed producers from across the country. Grass-fed beef from White Oak Pastures is available in our stores in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and in Washington, D.C. and Princeton and Marlton, New Jersey.

Want to know where the grass-fed beef in your local Whole Foods Market comes from? Just check our Grass-fed Rancher Partners page. And don’t forget to pick up some grass-fed beef in our stores to give it a try yourself! We’ve got recipes and cooking tips along with the whole scoop on the benefits of grass-fed on our Grass-fed Beef page.

Matt O’Hayer’s happy hens are pasture-raised outdoors at Vital Farms near Austin, Texas.  Matt’s hens move among open pastures, ensuring fresh grass for the chickens while fertilizing the land in return.  Because the hens feed on these grasses high in beta carotene and other vitamins, Vital Farms eggs have a dark, thick yolk with great egg flavor.

Vital Farms is a recipient of a Whole Foods Market Local Producer Loan, which they have used to purchase equipment to help them expand their production.

Skin Organics’ founder, Ann Webb developed a passion for skin care at an early age when she struggled with severe cystic acne. She used her extensive knowledge of aesthetics, dermatology and skin rejuvenation to launch and grow an affordable, simple-to-use product line that contained the best pharmaceutical-grade ingredients available.

When Whole Foods Market announced our Premium Body Care program for products meeting the strictest standards for quality sourcing, environmental impact, results and safety, Ann reformulated her products in order to meet this standard. Additionally, she partnered with us to create Skin Organics Premium, an exclusive, Premium Standard line that is even more affordable than the original and maintains the same sought after effectiveness.

Thanks to a loan through Whole Foods Market’s Local Producer Loan Program, Skin Organics is now available in eight of our twelve regions, with more to come!

Learn more in this short video.

At Whole Foods Market, our local producers – and their products – are truly one-of-a kind. And recipients of our Local Producer Loan Program are no different! From kombucha and raw chocolate to vegan ice cream and sticky toffee pudding, their products reflect the variety that makes our stores such wonderful places to shop. Here are a few of the most unique!

Alaska’s Bakery

Owner: Noreen Naidus

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Product: Organic dog treats

No, Whole Foods Market hasn’t opened a store in Anchorage or Fairbanks! Alaska’s Bakery is named after owner Noreen Naidus’s dog, Alaska. Noreen started Las Vegas-based Alaska’s Bakery in 2007, after having discovered that the organic treats she baked for her dog were popular with others. She has been selling to our stores for about two years. Noreen is using her loan for marketing, ingredients and packaging, which will help her expand her business.

Gourmè Mist

Owners: Sherene Costanzo and Simona Bunin

Location: Coral Springs, Florida

Product: Oil misters
I know from personal experience that a heavy hand on the oil bottle can totally ruin a meal. So I think that Gourmè Mist is a great idea: eco-friendly misters for oils and vinegars. Some are even organic! And even better: Sherene and Simona are using their loan funds to extend the line into packets of oil and vinegar for food service.

BTTR Ventures

Owners: Alex Velez and Nikhil Arora

Location: Emeryville, California

Product: Mushrooms and mushroom kits

So, two recent college grads growing mushrooms in a warehouse using leftover coffee grounds (some from our Allegro cafés!) is cool. Using the waste product from those ’shrooms for compost is very cool. But grow-your-own-mushroom kits using those same recycled coffee grounds? That’s just awesome! And that’s what BTTR (pronounced “better”) Ventures does. BTTR stands for “Back To The Roots”, and these two Berkeley grads certainly embody that spirit. Their loan will help them purchase equipment and expand into a larger space, so that more of our customers can grow their own.

ImagiPLAY

Owner: Barbera Aimes

Location: Boulder, Colorado

Product: Earth-friendly toys

Ever needed an eco-yo-yo, a wooden fruit cutting set, or a hedgehog rattle? ImagiPLAY has you covered! Not only are Barbera’s wooden toys environmentally responsible, but they will also stimulate your child’s mind while they are having fun. ImagiPLAY’s loan has helped them expand their inventory to serve even more of our stores. Which is a good thing, because, really, what kid doesn’t want Counting Penguins or a Puff the Alphabet Dragon?

Matt O’Hayer’s interest in chicken-raising started as a child delivering eggs door-to-door. Folks call him the Egg Man! Fast-forward to 2007, when he started Vital Farms, an organic pastured egg farm located on 27 acres along Onion Creek in South Austin. We visited Matt at the farm and, as you’ll see, learned that his chickens have an enviable life, with lots of green grass and plenty of space to roam.

Vital Farms is a recipient of a Whole Foods Market Local Producer Loan, which they have used to purchase equipment to help them expand their production.

The local producers we work with sometimes get national recognition! We wanted to share with you the press that a few of our Local Producer Loan recipients have received lately.

Revolution Foods Featured in the New York Times

Revolution Foods founders Kristin Richmond and Kirsten Tobey have set the bar for healthy school lunches really high – and this article in the New York Times explains how and why. We are proud to have provided them with Local Producer Loan Program funds to help their expansion! The Revolution Foods products you buy in our stores help support this valuable work. (Now available in 160 of our stores.)

Progress Coffee: One of America’s Ten Best Boutique Coffee Shops!

Congratulations to Local Producer Loan recipient Progress Coffee! In its January issue, Bon Appétit magazine named them one of the ten best boutique coffee shops in the U.S. Here’s what the magazine had to say:

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.

Check out the rest of the piece here, as well as a great video on Progress Coffee. And if you live in Austin, go visit the shop itself or pick up some of their coffee at our Austin or San Antonio stores!

Edible Radio Interviews Will Harris of White Oak Pastures

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 Local Producer Loan Program. Will is knowledgeable and engaging; if you eat White Oak Pastures beef and want to know more about where your food comes from, you should definitely check out the interview here. We’ve featured Will in our own slide show interview too.

It’s great to work with such special local producers and it’s great to see others noticing them too.