Rachael is part of our team dedicated to answering emails, letters and phone calls from our customers.

At Christmas, I went with my boyfriend to “meet the parents” and as we were driving along the highway he pointed to his hometown’s Whole Foods Market and said, jokingly, “There’s Whole Foods, I bet you’d love to go there since you get to see it every day!” He was trying to be funny, but I confessed that I actually love to visit our stores in other towns because each and every one I’ve visited is different. With the varied selection of prepared foods, regional specialties in our grocery departments and locally grown produce, each of our stores truly caters to the local flavor of the community.

But the community feeling is not limited to the products we sell. I hear from customers every day about how our Team Members make them feel like part of the family. One customer I spoke with was so used to the Team Members in her store knowing her personally, she was heartbroken that one of our Team Members didn’t know her name! She explained that the store was her spiritual family. While sweetly off-kilter, that call reminded me that our stores truly do make an impact in people’s lives.
Read the rest of this entry »

What do the words “holiday indulgences” conjure for you? My mind goes to decadent baked goods glistening with glaze and also to weekends spent lazing around in my pajamas, totally ignoring all to-do lists. Whatever holiday indulgence means to you, this is certainly the season to embrace it.

On Thursday, December 22^nd at 6pm CST our weekly twitter chat will be all about holiday indulgence — whatever it means to you. Join us to dish about:

• Decadent holiday dessert recipes
• De-stressing from the busy year
• Practicing new and old traditions
• Taking time for yourself
• The benefits of holiday music, movies and more

Just pop onto Twitter.com and search for the hashtag #WFMdish to see what we’re dishing about. Need a refresher on how this works? Check out our #WFMdish FAQs for details on how to get set up on Twitter and start dishing with the us. We’ll have new topics every week so there’ll always be something interesting to discuss with us and other “Dish” participants.

If there’s something you want to make sure we discuss on this week’s Dish, leave a comment below. We may not be able to get to all the topics suggested but we’ll sure try our best!

It’s no secret that the holidays bring a myriad of parties, feasts and indulgences, leaving you ready for that New Year’s resolution to do it better, bigger, brighter, smarter in the coming year. But first, let’s take a look back and chat about what went right this year. We can celebrate our large and small successes together and use those to plan for the future.

So, the new chat topic is “Looking Back and Moving Forward.” Join us this Thursday, December 29^th at 6pm CST to dish about:

• What went right in 2011
• Successful resolutions
• Resolutions you will try again and what help you need to succeed this year
• Starting the new year with a great attitude
• Setting yourself up for success

Just pop onto Twitter.com and search for the hashtag #WFMdish to see what we’re dishing about. Need a refresher on how this works? Check out our #WFMdish FAQs for details on how to get set up on Twitter and start dishing. We’ll have new topics every week so there’ll always be something interesting to discuss with us and other “Dish” participants.

If there’s something you want to make sure we discuss on this week’s Dish, leave a comment below. We may not be able to get to all the topics suggested but we’ll sure try our best!

Are you on Twitter yet? We are! If you follow @WholeFoods, you’ll get seasonal recipes, sales info, shopping and cooking tips, and lots more. With a healthy 2.1 million followers, we just can’t beat the real-time connection with our customers and friends on Twitter. We’ve even started a weekly hour-long chat on Twitter called “Dish.”

The “Dish” twitter chat happens every Thursday at 6PM CST. Just pop onto Twitter.com and search for the hashtag #WFMdish to see what we’re dishing about. We’ll have new topics every week so there’ll always be something interesting to discuss with us and other “Dish” participants.

Read the rest of this entry »

A small town girl with a big appetite for travel, Liz joined Whole Foods Market in 2009 as part of the public relations team. This past June, Liz and nine other Whole Foods Market volunteers traveled to Kenya to meet Whole Planet Foundation’s microlending partners and work with Comfort the Children International, the nonprofit behind the L.I.F.E. Jacket project. Liz met the amazing women and children the program is empowering, and is excited that shoppers now have a way to get involved!

Looking for a perfect little something for the office crew, a gift that gives back or a stocking stuffer your loved ones can use all year long? We have just the thing to rescue you from your holiday woes — a L.I.F.E. Jacket. This reusable canvas coffee sleeve is handmade by women in Kenya to help them earn a living and — for the first time ever — send their special needs children to school.

With a fresh design and a great cause, this java jacket plays many roles. It keeps your drinks piping hot and protects your hands while keeping wasteful cardboard sleeves out of the landfill and helping to change a mother and child’s world — and all before breakfast! L.I.F.E. stands for Livelihood, Invest, Future, Empower, and that’s just what the products are helping poor mothers provide and do for their families. Want to learn more about these women, this program and the L.I.F.E. Jacket? Take a look at this video:

Read the rest of this entry »

As a concierge team member in the Whole Foods Market flagship store in Austin, Texas, for five years, I thought I had been asked every question under the sun. But after a recent move upstairs to become our Global Support office’s receptionist, I quickly realized that I was mistaken. Sure, I still get calls from customers, but their questions can be different. And I also get calls from possible new vendors, potential new Team Members, interested investors and lots more. One of the perks of my job is that if I don’t know the answer to their various questions, I have a surplus of knowledgeable team members who do. As an ongoing series, I’ve decided to take a handful of the frequently asked questions I receive and demystify them.

Q: “I want to work for Whole Foods, how do I apply?”

A: We accept applications for individual stores, regional offices and global support via our Careers page. You can search through each state and even look for a specific location. The application process can take between 30-45 minutes so it’s a good idea to create a login and password so you can fill out the application at your own pace. Check out the Careers page for helpful links regarding benefits, hiring processes and why people work here. Various stores accept paper applications but check with your local store beforehand. If you want to follow up on an application, make sure to contact the specific location where you applied; we empower our locations to hire for their needs instead of having a centralized hiring process.

Read the rest of this entry »

Erin Schrode is the co-founder and spokeswoman of Teens Turning Green, a student-led movement promoting global sustainability, youth leadership, environmental education and conscious lifestyle choices.

 Have you ever felt as if you wanted to “do something,” but didn’t know where to start? Project Green Challenge is that chance, your entry point into action and sustainability. Our upcoming 30-day eco lifestyle challenge is mobilizing high school and college students nationwide through fun, simple and high impact daily steps. We challenge you to complete themed actions each day in October. Can you do it? Can you take your life from conventional to conscious?

I am proud to say that Project Green Challenge (PGC) is an initiative of youth, by youth, for youth! Our team of more than fifteen interns, staff, partners and a number of newly-appointed PGC campus reps has spent the last four months working tirelessly to develop the program structure, corporate and non-profit partnerships, and our multimedia platform. We have spoken with hundreds of high schools, colleges and universities about grounding this initiative, incorporating the Challenge into campus culture, extracurriculars, even curriculum.

Involve your campus – because this is a nationwide competition for schools too. Win an on-campus Sustainability 101 event, eco resource fair, organic lunch for leadership council, ice cream party, green cleaning supplies, and consultation with Teens Turning Green to set your school on a greener path. This is the beginning of a dynamic, collective, student-led movement to shift the paradigm!

We are using social and traditional media, a robust digital platform, and strong on-campus presence to bring the Challenge to you, into the hands of our generation. As a twenty-year-old, I fully understand the need for relevant themes and straight-forward actions to ensure the Challenge is accessible to young people and has maximum impact. Here’s a short video we created that you can post and share with your friends:

Bottom line: I want to empower YOU. I want to inform and inspire, showing my peers that small changes in our daily actions really can have a positive effect on our health and the environment.

Sign up to take the 30-day eco lifestyle Challenge and we will deliver the daily challenges directly to your inbox, complete with resources, tips, a glossary, experts, videos and more. When it is this simple and high impact, there’s no excuse for you not to join the movement to change the world – and spread the word far and wide!

Delve deeper, become more engaged, complete the green, greener and greenest levels of daily challenges, share your experiences with our audience – and you might just earn yourself a spot in the Challenge Finals! Ten finalists will be flown to San Francisco for an educational and inspiring two-day eco summit, which we have titled Green University.

You could win some really phenomenal prizes too! A $5000 college scholarship, $1000 gift card for Whole Foods Market, weekend trip for two to southern California, bicycle courtesy of Natracare, full eco dorm or room makeover, year’s supply of Nature’s Path breakfast and snack foods, organic and ethical clothing, natural body products, and much more.

We aim to raise awareness about conscious living, informed consumption, and the collective impact of individual actions, as well as empower students with actionable steps for their own lives. Help us get the word out! If we all take the Challenge and commit to being the change we wish to see in the world, then yes, we can build a powerful, diverse and far-reaching movement that inspires this generation to lead the transition from conventional to conscious and sustain our world. Sign up for Project Green Challenge today!

Afraid of what your kids are eating at college? Want to give someone you love access to healthy food all year long? Check out this video and see why a Whole Foods Market auto-reload gift card could be your best investment, and then purchase a gift card and see for yourself.

Plus, you’ll get a $10 bonus on your auto-load gift card when you purchase it using your American Express card and sign up for the $100 auto-schedule. On top of that, with every third auto-reload you’ll get an additional $5 added to the gift card. Check it out:

Who in your life could use an auto reload gift card?

Oh yeah, our team members know how to shop our store! While we weren’t eligible for the Living Social deal that burned up the internet Tuesday, a few of us got a sweet offer of our own. (In case you weren’t aware, it took only ten hours for a million lucky people to get in on a Living Social deal selling a $20 Whole Foods Market gift card for only $10. Wow! The deal sold out, so you can’t get it now, sorry!)

So, with all the online chatter about what you can get for $20 at Whole Foods Market (yes, we laughed at the jokes too), we decided to put it to the test. We sent real live team members from our headquarter offices to our store with $20 bucks to spend. Armed with The Whole Deal value guide, our online coupons, and a sharp eye for specials and our 365 Everyday Value® lines, these team members wowed us with their creativity and general awesome ability to shop.

I bet these whet your appetite as well as your desire to find your own great deals!

Elizabeth shopped for a “Taste of Thailand” meal for $19.13:

• Annie Chun’s Brown Rice Pad Thai Noodles, 8oz. box
• 365 Everyday Value® Organic Peanuts, Roasted & Salted, 12 oz. bag
• 365 Everyday Value® Organic Tofu, Extra Firm, 14 oz. package
• 365 Everyday Value® Organic Coconut Milk, 13.5 oz. can
• Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste, 4 oz. jar
• Fresh organic cilantro, 1 bunch
• 1 organic Italian eggplant
• 1 lime
• 2 serrano peppers
• 1 white onion

Vadan shopped for his pregnant wife’s smoothie ingredients and cravings for $19.45:  

• Organic Yobaby Blueberry Yogurt, 4-4oz containers
• 1 bunch organic kale
• 6-oz package of blueberries
• 2 organic carrots
• 3 EARTH University bananas (Whole Trade™)
• 2 red lunchbox apples
• 365 Everyday Value® Large Olives, 6-oz can
• 365 Everyday Value® Organic Baby Dill Pickles, 16-oz jar
• Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Frozen Waffles, 1 box
• Blue Diamond Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze, half gallon

Natanya put together fixings for a spicy tailgate party for $20.50:

• Frontier Blue Corn Chips, 10-oz bag
• 365 Everyday Value® Salsa, Tequila Lime, 16-oz jar
• 8-count buttermilk slider buns
• 1 head organic green leaf lettuce
• 1 medium red onion
• 4 small locally grown tomatoes
• 1.5 oz goat cheese
• ½ lb lean ground pork
• ½ lb pork chorizo

Michael shopped to make his veggie tacos with homemade salsa and guacamole dip for $19.40:

• 2 portobello mushrooms
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 organic zucchini
• 1 organic yellow onion
• 1 poblano pepper
• 2 jalapeno peppers
• 1 organic hass avocado
• 1 head of garlic
• 2 limes
• 1 bunch of fresh organic cilantro
• 365 Everyday Value® Whole Peeled Tomatoes, 28-oz can
• 365 Everyday Value ® Organic Flour Tortillas, 6-count
• Organic Oikos Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt, 5.3 oz

Kate grabbed natural and organic lunch box and snack favorites for her son for $20.20:

• 1 bag of organic red seedless grapes
• 1 bag of cut & peeled ready-to eat organic carrots
• 3 lunchbox apples
• 1 bunch of EARTH University Whole Trade™ bananas
• 1 bulk container of organic honey roasted peanut butter
• 1  jar of 365 Everyday Value® Raspberry Fruit Spread
• 1 loaf of fresh-baked sandwich bread
• 1 box of six organic Clif Kid Z Bars
• 1 package of six Organic Valley Colby Jack Cheese Stringles
• ½ lb organic Thompson seedless raisins

Rebecca bought all these “runner’s remedy” items for $20.25:

• 1 4-pack of Organic Valley Organic Chocolate Milk
• 2 8-oz bottles of Zico Coconut Water
• 1 2.75g pack of Tasty Orange fruit snacks, sport
• 4 Cliff Builder bars
• 2 1.3-oz Honey Stinger honey packs
• 1 2.1-oz Think Thin bar

We’ve got lots of ideas! We put together $20 bags for healthy snacking, Saturday cleaning, pantry stocking, ultimate breakfast, grilling, wine tasting night, Italian dinner, movie night, and tons more.

Let us know if you want to see some of the other shopping bags we put together for $20 bucks. What would you put in your bag?

Get your appetite ready because if you’re lucky enough to live in or be visiting Northern California, you’ve got to check out the Eat Real Festival coming to Oakland’s Jack London Square September 23rd through the 25th. This amazing event is totally free to attend and no street food or beverage is over $5. The Bay Area’s finest street food vendors will be cooking up some of the best dishes you’ve ever had: tacos with fascinating ingredients from all over the world, BBQ, flatbread, noodles, curry, falafel, ice cream and more!

Eat it!

Make sure you look for the local vendors we feature in our Northern California stores like Liba Falafel, El Porteno Empanadas, and Scream Sorbet. It’s a great way to meet your favorite chefs face to face and tell them how much you love their food.

We’ll have a special area where you can put your feet up and relax with some tasty treats from our own Taco Truck featuring Creminelli Meat Whip, Grilled Figs with Goat Cheese, Hodo Soy Kung Pao Yuba Salad and Jalapeno Battered Fork in the Road Corn Dog Bites.

You can take a bit of Eat Real home with you, too! The Craft Marketplace will have handmade honeys, jams, pickles, and other deliciousness for sale. There’ll be a complimentary bag check, so you can buy your treats, go enjoy the fest, and then pick up your goods before heading home.

Read the rest of this entry »