Hopefully those of you who are giving gifts this holiday season have completed your shopping (or crafting), mailed your offerings off to distant friends and relatives or placed them in gift bags under the tree and are dusting your hands and declaring, “That’s a wrap!” However, if, like me, you are still scrambling to find a few stocking stuffers and holiday remembrances for friends, neighbors and co-workers, here’s a suggestion for one of the best stocking stuffers of the season.
You’ll find Whole Planet Foundation® 2012 calendars at any Whole Foods Market® store throughout the US and Canada. These colorful calendars feature gorgeous photography of 13 different microcredit clients from around the world and cost only $3. That’s right. Three bucks. Plus, it rolls up to just the right size for sticking in a stocking. Wrap a ribbon or bit of twine around the middle and it’s good to gift. Read the rest of this entry »
Hot off the presses, our Whole Planet Foundation calendar is on sale now at Whole Foods Market stores throughout the US and Canada! At just $3 each, these calendars are perfect for home, office, stocking stuffers, gifts and more. Thanks to funding from our vendor partners, 100% of calendar sales goes to provide microlending support to our global communities. In addition to feeling good about helping, you’ll also receive more than $16 (Canada) and more than $20 (US) in coupons from the Whole Foods Market’s supplier community! You’ll save on your favorite items from companies like Nature’s Path, Earth’s Best, Amy’s Kitchen and Seventh Generation. Visit our calendar page to see the full list of coupons.
This is our fifth year to create a calendar, and each year gets better. More value for you through coupons and more funds raised to help our microcredit clients. Last year, shoppers purchased more than $70,000 in calendars, which funded 312 microloans that empowered nearly 2,000 poor women and their family members to create or expand a home-based business and create prosperity. Each year these loans are repaid and re-loaned again and again, and with your help this year, Whole Planet Foundation can empower 2,000 more women with an opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship.
We recently teamed up with our friends at Sambazon to offer one lucky winner and their guest a week-long trip to Brazil, to visit the beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro and explore the Amazon Rainforest. Katie T. from Houston, Texas is our lucky winner. Not only will she get to see the typical Brazilian sights, she’ll also visit Sambazon’s production facilities and meet the family farmers who grow the organic açaí used in their products. Her trip will give her a comprehensive look into the lively Brazilian culture and Sambazon’s rainforest roots.
Known for introducing açaí into the US market, Sambazon has been working with Brazil’s local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to build the supply of organic açaí. Over 10,000 people in the Amazon now help Sambazon harvest açaí through their fair trade program. This incentivizes farmers to manage their land and protect it for generations to come. “A HUGE thank you to Sambazon and Whole Foods for awarding me with this incredible experience and adventure!” Katie said. “I can’t wait to be immersed in the sounds, tastes, smells and culture of Brazil!”
This post comes from Steve Wanta, Executive Program Director for the Whole Planet Foundation. Steve oversees the existing portfolio of microfinance programs and analyzes new projects for funding.
In this edition of Dispatches from the Field, I travel to Indonesia and meet with clients from our partner, Grameen Trust, to profile three very different clients, each of whom has their own story.
Microfinance means different things to different people. At the most basic level, it is the provision of financial services that are tailored to people without access to formal banks. Whole Planet Foundation chooses partners who design programs focused on alleviating poverty for the world’s poorest entrepreneurs, specifically in communities where Whole Foods Market sources products.
In Brazil, açaí (ah-sigh-ee) palms grow wild along the Amazon river near Macapa. These palms produce small purple berries that are packed with powerful antioxidants and are very versatile. Açaí has a unique flavor, reminiscent of berries but with a hint of chocolate. In Brazil, açaí is traditionally served in bowls as a thick pulp. Since it requires freezing to preserve its flavor and nutrients, açaí is a natural for smoothies and other frozen concoctions. It also makes a great mole, an awesome salad dressing and an incredible BBQ sauce.
Read on to learn how to enter for a chance to win a trip to Brazil.
We are so excited that Whole Trade® Guarantee Francique mangoes are in stores companywide! Make sure you get them while you can – the plump and juicy Francique variety is unique to Haiti and available only during a short season each spring.
If you watched this video, you got to see Haitian mangoes being harvested from family trees and learned how Whole Trade ensures the farmers are getting the most for their crop. And if you read this previous blog post, you got all the details on how in addition to the superior taste and texture, you can also feel good about the mangoes you are buying. Whole Foods Market is the sole buyer of organic and Fair Trade Certified mangoes from small Haitian growers, sometimes buying from a family with just one tree. The Whole Trade Guarantee ensures growers receive equitable pay — a key point since this mango crop is a major source of income for many of these farmers.
Steve Wanta is the Executive Program Director for the Whole Planet Foundation. He oversees the existing portfolio of microfinance programs and analyzes new projects for funding.
Conversations can change the world. It was one such conversation between Muhammad Yunus and John Mackey in 2004 that created the concept of Whole Planet Foundation, which supports microcredit in communities where Whole Foods Market sources products. Starting with just one team member, Philip Sansone, working in Costa Rica and Guatemala, the support from customers and team members has been so generous that we will have expanded to nearly 60 countries by the end of 2011. Thank you!
To learn more about what we are doing, watch this latest edition of Dispatches from the Field, this time from Indonesia.
We are so very thankful to everyone who contributed to our 2011 Annual Prosperity Campaign. Together, we raised $4 million — well over our $2.5 million goal — to help end poverty. Because of you, Whole Planet Foundation will be able to reach 100,000 more impoverished women and their families who live in communities that supply Whole Foods Market stores with product, helping them to lift themselves out of poverty.
100% of this $4 million goes to poverty alleviation through microfinance partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Your donation is repaid and reloaned in rural communities again and again, helping about 100,000 people change their own lives. With a microcredit loan, usually $200 or less, an impoverished entrepreneur can create or expand a home-based business, such as small-scale agriculture, weaving, jewelry, prepared foods, raising livestock and others.
To celebrate the five-year anniversary of funding the first microcredit loan by Whole Planet Foundation, we are launching a special new Whole Foods Market gift card. Check out the image here of this really unique card made from all natural wood with a cellulose overcoat. In addition to looking cool, when you purchase this card you donate a dollar to help alleviate poverty. That’s what making a difference is all about.
It’s very simple to do. When you initially buy the gift card, you pay $1 more than the face value of the card and that goes directly to the Whole Planet Foundation. Then you (or your gift recipient) can use the card to pay at our registers just like any other retail gift card. When giving them away, your recipient gets two gifts: one for themselves (who doesn’t love a gift card to Whole Foods Market?!) and another by helping others in their honor (by making a lasting impact through microcredit).
Our annual 2011 Whole Planet Foundation Prosperity Campaign runs for two more weeks and we hope you will join us in the home stretch! Thanks to your generosity, $2.97 million has been donated so far! That’s enough for 16,500 microloans supporting 82,500 people with a chance to lift themselves out of poverty. It’s easy to donate either in our stores or donate online. You can also spread the word to your social network or start your own campaign.
Our stores and facilities have truly gone above and beyond this year to raise awareness and funds for Whole Planet Foundation. Impactful in-store displays and merchandising, combined with largely attended out-of-store events have helped surpass this year’s Campaign initial fundraising goal. But there’s not need to stop there! Let’s keep going to $3.6 million dollars so we can empower 100,000 people with a better life.
Here’s just a quick look at some of the creative fundraising from our stores. Whole Foods Market’s Park Royal Village Created “Meal Solution” tables based on Whole Planet Foundation borrower-inspired recipes, including Ethiopian-style Chickpea Stew.
Welcome to Whole Story, the official blog of Whole Foods Market.
Don’t know us? In a nutshell, we are the world's leading natural and organic grocer and we’re passionate about healthy food and a healthy planet. Learn more about us.
We’re lucky to have a whole bunch of smart, passionate people doing incredible things in areas like organics, supporting local growers, green practices, fair trade, micro-lending and all kinds of food related stuff. We’ll use this blog to share some of the cool things going on around here.
Of course, what makes this blog really exciting is YOU — so join the conversation!
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Hopefully those of you who are giving gifts this holiday season have completed your shopping (or crafting), mailed your offerings off to distant friends and relatives or placed them in gift bags under the tree and are dusting your hands and declaring, “That’s a wrap!” However, if, like me, you are still scrambling to find a few stocking stuffers and holiday remembrances for friends, neighbors and co-workers, here’s a suggestion for one of the best stocking stuffers of the season.
We recently teamed up with our friends at 
In Brazil, açaí (ah-sigh-ee) palms grow wild along the Amazon river near Macapa. These palms produce small purple berries that are packed with powerful antioxidants and are very versatile. Açaí has a unique flavor, reminiscent of berries but with a hint of chocolate. In Brazil, açaí is traditionally served in bowls as a thick pulp. Since it requires freezing to preserve its flavor and nutrients, açaí is a natural for smoothies and other frozen concoctions. It also makes a great mole, an awesome salad dressing and an incredible BBQ sauce.
We are so excited that Whole Trade® Guarantee 
Steve Wanta is the Executive Program Director for the Whole Planet Foundation. He oversees the existing portfolio of microfinance programs and analyzes new projects for funding.
Our annual 
