Our first day in Quito was an amazing introduction to a place, a culture, and a people unlike any other. The sheer geography at over ten thousand feet in the tumultuous Andes mountain range atop the equator gave the city a powerful and immense character. The region stretches across enormous valleys with drop-off cliffs, rivers and active volcanoes throughout. The land is green and dotted with concrete and cinderblock houses.

We were hosted by the Ecuadorian Fair Trade Association, a group of seven farms, all primarily focused on roses. We buy from six of the seven as a company and we are the only major grocery retailer in the states who purchases flowers directly from these farms. Roses are the heart and soul of Ecuador floral production, yet we learned that only nine of the 700 farms there are fair trade certified, highlighting the importance of broadening the marketplace for these roses, to increase production and ultimately put more dollars into the local community.

We traveled to two different farms, Agrocoex and Hoja Verde, both precariously located at the base of active volcanoes in a dense, green farmland with streams and waterways interlaced throughout. We spent our time inside their greenhouses and production facilities, as well as traveling to see the benefits of their community programs firsthand. Through their efforts they have initiated numerous projects, including education scholarships, home loans, school improvements, dental services, community computer centers, music education, laundry services and more.

Fair Trade Certification can be demanding on a business, both financially and operationally. The requirements are extremely detailed and the audits can take a large amount of time away from a normal work day, even if the farm only sells 25% of its flowers as certified. However, it became clear that in the world of Fair Trade flowers, social responsibility and worker empowerment are intimately intertwined with corporate philosophy across all layers of the business. The managers of these farms do not elect to be certified for the ambition of building new business, they do it because it is a core tenant of their belief system, it defines their vision for the company and it is the right thing to do.

On both farms the workers are organized as cooperative corporations, complete with president and secretary. There is no compensation for these roles, but they lead the group in shaping their community support while learning invaluable business skills in leadership, accounting and public speaking. The entire workforce meets as a general assembly multiple times per year to vote on proposed projects, with a simple majority needed to put a proposal in motion.

I would be deeply remiss if I did not also spend some time describing the beauty of these roses and the efficient, dynamic agricultural practices in use at all stages of growing, harvesting and production. In place on these farms were impressive irrigation systems, natural pest control methods, like spiders, and innovative rack systems for sorting and arranging the flowers. The blooms themselves were enormous, strong and breathtaking, expressing the care exerted at every step along their way into the shipping boxes that will eventually arrive at our stores.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to meet our growers firsthand and to witness the benefits of our Whole Trade program. Responsibility in global purchasing is a complicated subject, yet seeing the benefit of an affordable home loan to a struggling family or a quality education to a disadvantaged youth is a simple truth.

Since 2008, our Whole Trade floral program has put more than .3 million into community projects through the 10% premium. We have the ability to transform trade by voting with our dollars, and the impact can be substantial. My hope is that we can raise awareness for the importance of Whole Trade flowers and that we can all be a little more connected to the impact our purchases have on those at the other end of the supply chain.

I encourage you to add some color to your home on your next shopping trip and feel good about not only the beautiful blooms on your kitchen counter, but the families and communities of the growers who benefit from your choices.  And don’t forget this Valentine’s Day to share your love with flowers that make a difference, and tell us what supporting ethical trade means to you. Thanks for joining me.

Whole Story

Our journey began in Bogota, Colombia, home of one of our largest Whole Trade® growers, Elite Flowers. Despite working for Whole Foods Market, a mission-driven company with a commitment to supporting all of our stakeholders, it can be easy to discount the powerful positive impact a company can have on its workers, their families and the greater community in which they live. Yet we were lucky enough to see that impact in action with a brief glimpse into the community of Elite Flowers, their Foundation and their Worker’s Fund. Through it all I was inspired, impressed and dutifully full on delicious food (if you are ever in Bogota, you absolutely must try Ajiaco soup!). Elite is a large company with over 4,000 employees and the work they do is changing lives on a daily basis, both inside and out of the greenhouse walls.

The Elite Foundation was initially created to improve the lives of the employees’ children, who were largely left at home to be raised by the older children. The goal was to provide quality education, nutrition and expression through art and community. When we established our Whole Trade relationship with the farm, the foundation became the natural recipient for the 10% premium we pay over the cost of the flowers (pre-shipping) that goes directly into important community programs. As those dollars rolled in, Elite was able to expand their overall services and directly fund 150 new children in the program. But to truly understand the importance and impact of these dollars, we needed to see it in person.

Our first stop was the Chappala School, a nursery and pre-school, supporting children under the age of five who would otherwise be left at home. The school offers a full service program of transportation, healthy meals, art and education, as well as nursery services for their youngest members. The site itself was beautiful and engaging, an expansive property located along a river that was the childhood home of the owner of Elite. The Foundation is coordinated by Mario and Maria Eugenia, people filled with warmth and compassion, who actively convey their dedication in supporting the workers’ families.

Our next stop is Chicala, offering education for students age 5-10. Again, I was impressed to see the beauty of the facility and vegetable gardens as well as the quality and scope of the academic and artistic education. We were lucky enough to catch part of one of their performances, and the children were fantastic!

The Foundation also supports community programs for youth, both those with disabilities, such as the hearing impaired, and prominent at-risk groups like teenage girls. These programs empower the youth with a sense of community and the opportunity to create their own future, whether it is in college, trade or art.

Working in tandem with the Foundation is the Worker’s Fund, a collective supporting the workers in numerous financial ways, including assistance with purchasing a home. This is a program where Whole Trade has also had significant involvement. To date, our customers are directly responsible for helping 77 families buy their first home, many of them with challenging circumstances, such as being single parents or dealing with medical conditions. The sense of pride and accomplishment in these families was overwhelmingly heartfelt, and they eagerly invited us into their homes to share their achievement.

We left Colombia tired yet inspired by what we had seen. Next stop is Quito, Ecuador, where we’ll journey into the high altitude terrain of the Andes mountains to see some of the biggest and boldest roses ever. In the meantime, leave a comment below by Valentine’s Day telling us how flowers made a day better for you or someone you care about and we’ll donate a dollar for every comment to the Elite Flower Foundation as our way of sharing the love.

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Flowers are a symbol of celebration and emotion; they convey feelings, life and vitality. They add color and warmth to our homes, and at the other end of the supply chain, they provide jobs, homes and community for the people who grow, harvest and package them. For six days in January, a group of Whole Foods Market® team members traveled to South America, visiting farms, meeting growers and seeing firsthand the benefits of our Whole Trade® flower program. It was a wild ride of planes, buses, cars and missing iPads, and through it all we were inspired by the people, the culture and the practices that create some of the most impressive flowers I have ever seen. This will be the first of three posts, with the hope of sharing our journey with you.

Throughout this trip I was continually reminded of how lucky we are, where so much we take for granted is an ambitious dream for others. Our Whole Trade program guarantees fair wages, sound environmental practices and improved working conditions. It also provides a 10% premium over the cost of the flowers (pre-shipping) that goes directly into important community programs. It was through the investment of these premiums that we saw the most visible and enduring impact for the workers. A few extra dollars per case of flowers turns into buying first homes for families, sending children to school, creating art programs, providing necessary medical and dental treatments and an overall elevation of the quality of life far beyond the norm.

Speaking of norms, if you’ve ever traveled with produce people you’ll understand when I talk about the one day we were able to sleep in, until the late hour of 7am! The world of flowers starts early and it’s an engaging combination of art, science, business and community. For those of us outside the produce industry, it was amazing to see the amount of work required behind the scenes to produce even a single flower. Entire greenhouses dedicated to the trials of potential new varieties, varietal buds spliced onto time-tested root stock, water and soil management, and the ongoing preservation of the blooms along every step until they reach our stores.

The timing of our visit was the perfect opportunity to watch the farms preparing for their busiest season of the year, Valentine’s Day. Some of the farms will almost double their staff during the next few weeks just to handle the volume and you can feel the activity building in the air. This year, I encourage everyone to share their love with flowers that support the Whole Trade communities of growers, to give the gift that makes a difference.

Check back tomorrow as we look at the specific community programs of Elite Flowers in Bogota. In the meantime, leave a comment below by Valentine’s Day telling us how flowers made a day better for you or someone you care about and we’ll donate a dollar for every comment to the Elite Flower Foundation as our way of sharing the love.

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Beef. We require Global Animal Partnership 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Ratings, prohibit added hormones and demand no antibiotics, ever! Our butchers know the best deals and will wrap just the amount you need for recipes and sensible, affordable portions. Look for value packs and lesser-known cuts.

Salmon. All of our wild-caught salmon is from certified sustainable fisheries or ranks high on third-party assessment rankings. Our farm-raised salmon has been third-party verified as Responsibly Farmed. We cut to order and offer great prices on frozen salmon year-round.

Eggs. Every whole egg we sell is cage-free, and you don’t have to scramble all over town to find a good deal on eggs of this caliber. Our 365 Everyday Value® eggs are always competitively priced!

Shampoo & Conditioner. We’ve got high standards for all of those we offer and we’ve got even higher standards for our Premium Body Care® products. Our 365 Everyday Value® hair care products proudly wear the Premium seal so you get great prices on the highest quality every day.

Greens. We source as much organic and local produce as possible. Bunched greens and lettuces are a good bet for your budget and your health. We offer a wide variety; try what’s on sale!

Crackers. Our selection of crackers is the best in town if you’re looking for whole grain, organic, gluten free or gourmet. They’re often on sale and/or have coupons (clip or print them from The Whole Deal value guide). Ask about case discounts and check out our 30+ varieties of 365 Everyday Value® crackers, too.

Coffee & Chocolate. High quality and responsible choices are what set us apart for these. We don’t allow any artificial colors, flavors or preservatives; and you’ll see organic, Whole Trade® Guarantee and other environmental and social benefits on more beans and bars in our stores than at any other grocer. A few are always on sale and look for 365 Everyday Value®.

Yogurt & Cheese. All of our 365 Everyday Value® yogurts and cheeses, organic or not, are made from the milk of cows never given artificial growth hormones (rBGH/rBST). This is true for many of the other brands we offer, too. None contain artificial colors, flavors or preservatives; and sales and coupons abound!

Bulk grains. Buying from bulk bins lets you get just the amount you need without paying for excess packaging (and its shipping). We sell a lot of bulk foods, so you can trust they’ve not been sitting and going stale, and where else can you find so many whole-grain and organic choices?

Dinner & Dessert. It’s not easy to find a meal without wondering what went into it. From indulgent to healthy, our prepared foods and bakery goods follow the same strict Quality Standards as the rest of the foods in our store, including no artificial ingredients and no hydrogenated fats. Make wise selections in smart portions and compare the whole package to eating out at a restaurant.

Gift Cards. Giving gift cards gives them just what they want — practical groceries or something special — no waste!

Wine. We’ve got some real steals! Have you discovered our chuck-bucking Three Wishes in light-weight glass bottles yet? And check out the Sure Deals in The Whole Deal.

Cleaners. Our Eco-Scale™ Rating System lets you choose how “green” you wanna go, balancing value with values.

Flowers. We’ve got more choices for Whole Trade® flowers than you can shake a long-stem rose at. Keep your eyes open; flowers go on sale, too.

Don’t forget, no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners or hydrogenated fats are allowed in our stores, so you can always shop with peace of mind no matter what’s in your basket. Plus, with the current issue of The Whole Deal value guide in hand, you’ll have + in coupons, more than a dozen Sure Deals, 9 new budget recipes and a dinner planner making it easier to buy what you want and save.

Your turn! What’s on your list of must-buys at our stores and why?

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That means the supplements in Whole Body don’t contain things like  artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives, unnecessary fillers and hydrogenated fats. Those same high standards are applied to our personal care products, as well. In fact, we encourage our vendor partners to use plant-based and naturally-derived ingredients, pure essential oil fragrances, gentle preservatives and non-petroleum ingredients. And, we do not allow any animal testing for any of our personal care products, ever.  In addition, we’ve created a set of top tier Premium Body Care® standards that raises the bar still further. Look for the products marked with our Premium Body Care seal and get a list of the Premium Body Care products your store carries on their store web page.

Now that you know a little more about what the Whole Body department is about, let me fill you in on some of the new products that have come out this month. Check back too, because I’ll be sending out more updates each month. Now you’ll have a good reason to venture into Whole Body!

Britenz Brush-On Teeth Whitener

• A convenient teeth whitening pen with a brush-on applicator; no messy trays or strips and no rinsing
• Has a fresh, natural peppermint flavor
• A portion of Britenz profits goes to organizations providing oral care for kids in the US and abroad

The Natural Dentist Healthy Moisture Dry Mouth Rinse

• Hydrates dry tissue and maintains moisture balance
• Freshens breath

The Natural Dentist Plaque Zapper Fluoride-Free Natural Gel Toothpaste

• A fluoride-free toothpaste for kids
• Formulated without SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors

Kiss My Face Triple Action Paste and Triple Action Paste with Anticavity Fluoride

• No SLS, parabens, artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners
• Great tasting mint flavor for fresher breath
• Available with or without fluoride

Everyone Soap

• A 3-in-1 soap — body wash, bubble bath and shampoo — for the whole family
• Gentle, moisturizing and fragrant
• Available in Coconut + Lemon, Lavender + Aloe and Citrus + Mint varieties

LÄRABAR Über

• Just nine carefully chosen ingredients per bar
• Made with whole fruits and nuts for sweet and salty flavor with lots of texture and crunch
• Flavors include Apple Turnover, Bananas Foster, Cherry Cobbler and Roasted Nut Roll

PROBAR

• Delectable combinations of whole grains, chunky nuts and delicious fruit served up in a convenient bar
• Vegan, includes raw ingredients and enrolled in the Non-GMO Project
• New flavors include Peanut Butter Burst, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate and Superfruit Slam made with organic acai and organic wheatgrass

Two Degrees

• Food bars made with natural ingredients including nut-free and vegan options
• For each food bar purchased, a medically formulated nutrition pack (RUTF, endorsed by the World Health Organization) is donated to a child suffering from malnutrition in a developing nation
• Chocolate Banana, Chocolate Peanut, Cherry Almond and Apple Pecan

That’s it. Fruit Snack Bars

• Convenient fruit bars that are vegan, kosher
• Made with only two ingredients: fruit and fruit! No added sugar, no nuts
• 100 calories and 3g of fiber per serving

Garden of Life Beyond Organic Raw Meal

• A meal powder that mixes with your favorite beverage – add it to smoothies and shakes too
• Made with superfoods including sprouts, seeds and greens
• Organic, raw, vegan and dairy free; no fillers, and no artificial flavors
• Vanilla and Chocolate flavors

Beyond Organic Raw Protein

• A powder that mixes well – add it to shakes, smoothies and other beverages
• Organic, raw, vegan and dairy free; no fillers, and no artificial flavors
• Vanilla and Chocolate flavors

Do you shop in our Whole Body department? What are some of your favorite products?

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Cooking with whole grains is an essential piece of eating a diet based in whole foods. Luckily, they’re also quite simple to incorporate into your menu. Here are some easy ways to enjoy whole grains:

• Try barley, quinoa or spelt berries in your favorite soup, replacing rice or noodles.
• Cook quinoa, rye berries, cracked wheat, bulgur or barley, cool and toss with chopped veggies or fruit and a vibrant vinaigrette for a salad.
• Have a hearty hot breakfast of amaranth, quinoa, grits or oats cooked with dried fruit and topped with nuts and your choice of almond milk, coconut milk or yogurt.
• Try kasha, cracked wheat or oat groats in a casserole or hearty stuffing for vegetables (such as stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers).
• Enjoy a sweet treat with a millet, quinoa or brown-rice pudding.
• Firmer grains such as rye berries, barley, wheat berries and quinoa can be used just like brown rice as a base for flavorful curries and stir-fries.
• Bake oats, amaranth, teff or rye flakes into breads or muffins.
• Bonus tip: Whole grains supply key nutrients for good health and contain all the components naturally present in the grain seed kernel: the endosperm, the germ and the bran.

Hungry yet? We’ve picked a few of our favorite recipes that feature whole grains to get you from sunup to sundown. Enjoy!

What do you make with whole grains? We’d love to know.

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Our Whole Trade® Guarantee ensures fair prices are paid for products, better wages and working conditions, and sound environmental practices. These Whole Trade bell peppers also generate a 1% donation of retail sale value to the Whole Planet Foundation.

These peppers come from Divemex, growers we have worked with for a few years now. We were pleased when Fair Trade USA came in as a certifier and helped the company meet their rigorous standards, which now qualifies the peppers for our Whole Trade Guarantee.

Recently, a group from our produce team visited the Divemex 175-acre greenhouse farm. They toured the facilities, learned about their production techniques and met some of the 600 people who are employed at the farm. Here’s what Matt Rogers of Whole Foods Market Produce had to say about the trip:

It was still a couple of weeks before harvest when we visited, but we saw some nice green peppers maturing on the plants. From a quality perspective, we like to see peppers with good blocky shape, full seed pack, even cavities around the seeds, and nice thick walls. Color comes on about three weeks after a pepper is mature and green. In the next five months, this farm will produce more than 10 million pounds of colored bell peppers!

With the Fair Trade certification, Whole Foods Market and our customers receive independent verification that working conditions and environmental practices on the farm meet high standards. Fair Trade also requires that a part of our purchase price be passed through to a fund controlled directly by the workers on the farm. The workers vote on how to invest the money to benefit their communities.

We met with the workers committee and they explained that the workforce had already voted to support three distinct education support programs for different interest groups:

• One for children of workers to support basic needs associated with attending primary school (uniforms, transportation, etc.)
• Another for workers themselves who want to continue their secondary education while they work
• And a separate one for workers seeking professional training of some sort to advance their careers.

Many of the workers at this farm are migrants from other areas of Mexico and special attention has been paid to ensure the families of these workers will also have access to the programs. We’re always excited to be able to support growers like Divemex who take the quality of their product and the wellness of their workforce seriously.

We hope you’ll pick up these peppers in our stores and help make this new program a success. Tell us what you think. When you buy something like bell peppers, do you consider the impact your purchase makes?

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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 . 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.

But it gets better — for everyone involved. Thanks to funding from Whole Planet Foundation’s supplier partners, 100% of the proceeds from calendar sales go directly toward providing microlending support in more than 50 global communities. This is a gift you will feel doubly good about giving, plus your recipient will also receive more than (US) or more than (Canada) in coupons from Whole Foods Market’s suppliers, including Nature’s Path, Earth’s Best, Amy’s Kitchen and Seventh Generation.

Want a sneak peak at the deals? Check out the calendar page on Whole Planet Foundation’s website to see the list of coupons.

I’ve purchased a calendar in each of the five years it has been on offer and I’m convinced that the 2012 edition is the most gorgeous.  This year’s featured microcredit clients hail from Paraguay, Malawi, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Dominican Republic, Rwanda, India, Cambodia, Turkey, Indonesia, Ecuador and the United States.  Each client has a story to inspire.

For example, Veronica, the featured client from Malawi, developed a fascinating and successful business renting out solar powered lanterns and offering solar cell phone charging services in her village with the help of her loan and training from Malawi’s MicroLoan. Less than 10% of the Malawi population is hooked into a traditional power grid and it will be years before most villages have reliable electricity. In many parts of Africa, small solar devices make sense. Veronica’s original business, a tea room, wasn’t bringing in sufficient income to support her family, so she chose to invest in a new venture. She’s currently challenged to keep up with the demand for her products and services, and is earning a lot more.

Go to the Entrepreneurs page on the Whole Planet Foundation website for more inspiring stories of the women (and one man) who are using microcredit loans to create a better life for themselves and their families. As one of thousands of Whole Foods Market Team Member contributors (through payroll deduction) I’m also thrilled that, as of December 2011, Whole Planet Foundation now funds microcredit in 49 countries where Whole Foods Market sources products.

Pick up several Whole Planet Foundation 2012 calendars for the stockings you need to stuff. A word to the wise: while we plan to carry them in the our US and Canadian stores through January, a Whole Planet Foundation staff member told me that they’re disappearing fast. We’ve sold nearly 34,000 so far, enough to fund more than 450 microloans in the developing world.

Are you giving any gifts that give back this year?

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In Costa Rica, we buy our Whole Trade lilies from Plantas y Flores, and their deep red Asiatic Knockout lilies are perfect for the holidays. Plantas y Flores is located high in the mountains — about 6,600 feet above sea level — above San Jose near the Irazu volcano, which you can see on a clear day. They are keen on detail and, in addition to quality checks on foliage, they actually measure to ensure the head size of every lily hits our minimum specification. Once the lily stalk is cut for packing, the plant’s bulbs are taken out of the ground and used in the farm’s compost. It takes an average of 13-18 weeks to grow a lily plant from bulb to a stalk that is ready to be harvested for retail sale.

For every Whole Trade lily purchased from Plantas y Flores, Whole Foods Market makes a scholarship donation to EARTH University to support students who want to work in agriculture. Plantas y Flores’ greenhouse production manager, Juan Pablo, graduated from EARTH University. He uses his education and training as he focuses on environmental and sustainability at the farm. For example, in the greenhouses they use nutrient-rich compost and coconut husks on the topsoil — the compost is made on the farm from the packing house and greenhouse scraps. Juan Pablo also created a system of four water collection tanks to reuse as much water as possible from rainfall and greenhouse run-off; these four reservoirs are used for water re-use in the greenhouses.

In Ecuador, we work with seven Fair Trade Certified rose farms for our Whole Trade® Guarantee roses. Last year, I got the chance to meet Gladys, who has worked at Agrocoex, one of our Whole Trade partner farms, for 17 years. She explained that at Agrocoex she is able to participate in decision making and feels comfortable to express herself and her opinions. Women make up about 60% of the workforce at the farm and are valued for their work. Gladys and her coworkers have all received training in labor rights, project development, negotiation skills and management.

Through the farm’s programs, which are supported by Whole Trade purchases, she has received education for both herself and her 12-year-old son. In addition to taking classes at the farm’s computer lab, her son attends school courses sponsored by the farm, located where Gladys knows he is safe and the people are reliable. Her family received dental care that is affordable and close to their home. And Gladys has received a loan for home improvement and is working towards her dream of building her own home on the farm’s Fair Trade funded housing project.

So, the next time you’re in one of our stores, make sure to stop by the floral department to see our Whole Trade floral selections that give back to the communities where these products are grown! And if you, like me, enjoy lilies and roses this time of year, here are a few basic care tips.

Care Tips for Lilies and Roses

• Trim at least 1 inch off the bottom of the stem, and clear away any foliage that will sit below the water line.
• Immediately place into cool, clean water.
• Change the water in your vase at least every 3 days (and give the stems a fresh cut) to help ensure that your flowers are able to continually “drink.”
• Keep out of direct sunlight as this can cause discoloration.
• Note: Lilies have pollen and this can be a pest! To keep stains from appearing on clothing, table linens, carpeting, and even the bright white petals of Oriental varieties, remove pollen when still “smooth” by plucking it off. Should you find yourself plagued by a bright orange pollen mess, gently brush the pollen away using a craft pipe-cleaner (do not rub it in) and wash with soap and warm water. Pipe-cleaners can also be used to brush pollen gently off the petals of your lilies.

Which blooms brighten your holiday table?

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Just last month the Global Vice Presidents from each department at our corporate office gathered for their own team build and they got their hands dirty. Literally. They spent their morning helping Austin’s Graham Elementary School turn their one-year-old set of eight raised garden beds into the school’s vision of a living classroom.

The work included assembling picnic tables, digging, installing drip irrigation in existing beds, weeding, creating two new limestone raised beds, digging, mulching walkways and digging. Lots of digging!

Graham Elementary is pretty special. A few years ago the school was rated “acceptable” by state standards. But with the creativity and passion of the school’s faculty, lead by principal Blaine Helwig, the school has celebrated an “exemplary” rating for the last three years! They intend to continue this progress by implementing experiential learning — like that of the living classroom.

What makes Graham’s garden tick is the fact that the entire community is a part of the effort. For example, a couple of years ago two local non-profits, the Sustainable Food Center and Marathon Kids, partnered with the school to create a wellness team made up of parents, teachers and community members. And all of these groups showed up to help out as this first stage of garden transformation took place.

According to master gardener Margaret Earnest, who insists she’s “just a volunteer,” the kids are learning all sorts of things in the garden including science and botany. “We just don’t tell them that,” she says. Margaret also leads the school’s 4^th and 5^th grade weekly after-school garden club which has a membership of over 50 kids this year! The day our group was there the club was releasing worms into the compost pile.

The garden at Graham is just one component of an even broader health effort at the school, which also features participation in Sustainable Food Center’s Sprouting Healthy Kids farm to school program and their Happy Kitchen cooking classes for parents. As well as Marathon Kids physical activity program – all led by members of the Graham school-community.

The formula for success developed at Graham can work for just about any school:

• find a couple of people who have deep passion and expertise
• find even more people who are willing to learn and support
• create a vision, a plan and implement it in phases
• believe in the genius of our children
• unleash their spirit

Our hats off to Graham and their supporters for their commitment to their kids, to our Whole Foods Market leaders who (literally) dug in to this worthy cause in their community and to all the communities everywhere where school gardens are teaching life lessons. See how you can help school gardens grow by visiting the Whole Kids Foundation website.

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