Actually, we work hard to get our green on every day of the year; after all, it’s one of our Core Values. Here are just a few ways we care for the environment in many of our stores:

• Recycling drop-off bins for customers: most of our stores have partnerships with Cork Re-Harvest (which upcycles wine corks) and Gimme 5 (which upcycles #5 plastics in the form of yogurt cups and Brita water filters); many stores also accept your plastic bags from other retailers
• Inexpensive reusable carrier bags: our two sizes of Better Bags are made from recycled materials, both sizes cost less than a buck and will likely last for more than 250 individual shopping trips with normal wear; if they do wear out, you can return them to a Whole Foods Market
• Rebates for BYOB: when you bring your own bags, we’ll rebate up to 10 cents each at the register to reward you for your resource-thrifty behavior
• FSC-certified 100% recycled paper bags: we were the first retailer to carry Forest Stewardship Council-certified 100% recycled paper bags (for when you forget your reusable bags)
• Recycling stations in food service areas: most of our stores have eating areas and we try to make it easy for you to help us recycle and compost everything possible (that is, according to local ordinances and waste diversion infrastructure)
• Compostable food containers: most of our salad bar containers are made from natural fibers obtained from bulrush (cattails), an abundant renewable resource that is harvested annually in the wild
• Recycled and compostable pizza boxes: many of our stores offer hearth-baked pizzas; in most locations we offer the take-out pies in a Greenbox, an innovative container that can be folded into a smaller size as you eat part of the pizza—you can even make serving dishes out of it
• Bicycle racks: we make it easy for muscle-powered cyclists to eat and shop with us
• Electric vehicle recharge stations: many of our new stores and some of the older ones, like our flagship Lamar store, have free recharge stations for electric cars
• Food donations: the vast majority of our stores donate usable food items to food banks and charitable organizations (following local health department regulations, of course); many stores hold non-perishable food drives for food banks throughout the year
• Store composting: in those communities that have a commercial composting infrastructure in place, we make sure our biologicals end up there instead of the landfill; in some areas that lack composting facilities, we even backhaul the compost to our distribution centers so that we don’t have to send this valuable resource to a landfill
• Beer and wine: we have environmentally friendly options at our in-store watering holes such as keg wines that allow us to significantly reduce packaging and waste and reusable growlers (64-oz. or 32-oz. glass jugs) for transporting the draft beer we carry at many of our stores

And while we haven’t found ideal solutions yet for some items that remain disposable (cutlery, for example) we’re continually working on finding better solutions for serving ware and packaging.

Besides wearing your green t-shirt, how do you get your green on at home? Have you dropped off plastic bags, yogurt cups or corks at Whole Foods Market before?  Participated in an electronics or canned-food drive? Used our bike racks, electric-vehicle recharge station or rented a car2go at a store? What else would you like to see us do in service to the environment?

Whole Story

If you offer to make a bet with Whole Foods Market®, they just might take you up on it. My family and I bet them to see if we could eat exclusively from their grocery stores for my family’s USDA-calculated “thrifty” budget of 1.10 for 30 days. That is about .31 per day for all of us. Every morsel would come from my kitchen and their stores. If we did it, they’d reimburse our expenses. If we failed, we’d get nothing.

If you want to see what your USDA food budget would be, just check right here and read my blog post from yesterday.

Whole Foods Market said yes and we were off and running. We took their Value Tour the week before our challenge started. A Value Tour is when a store employee takes you around the store and lets you know where to find good deals. Here’s what blew my mind: each store advertises between 100 to 150 items on sale each week, but there can be as many as 2,000 items marked down!

Simple Tips We Learned

• We shopped every 6 days, that seemed to be the sweet spot between keeping veggies fresh and tasty and not spending extra money from making extra trips.
• We had a loose menu plan but kept our options open. Because there are so many specials that are unadvertised, you might find something awesome that you want to take advantage of. An open mind means a wider variety of choices.
• Madness Sales rock! We were struggling hard with the constraints of the budget until we hit a Madness Sale. There was such a great deal on chicken that it freed up from our budget. We were able to put that towards fruits and veggies and everything was so much easier after that.
• Frozen and canned vegetables are a great option. We wouldn’t have made it, frankly, without them. We found mixed veggie combos to be delicious, taste fresh, and used them liberally in stir-fries, pasta sauces and just about everywhere.
• The more you cook from scratch, the cheaper it is. I made two loaves of bread every week for a mere .25. It makes sense: if you do the labor, you keep the savings. This is pretty true for just about everything in the store.

An Eye Opening Experience

Throughout the 30 days I kept thinking of families who were living at or below the poverty level trying to feed everyone. It was such a struggle for us even though we had done our homework and only had to do it for one month. I can’t imagine what the grind feels like after months or years of living like this.

Here’s a kicker, the USDA Thrifty level is about 30% higher than Food Stamps. If you’re on food stamps it can be really challenging to feed your family healthfully. Starches are cheaper than produce and it’s easy to reach for those. I can see how the poverty/obesity trap happens and why it’s so difficult to get out of.

Over the 30 days, I gained a lot of knowledge about how to feed a family well even on a tight budget. When I started our meals were starch heavy but as I got savvier about living on a frugal budget, I figured out how to add more produce into our diets. It’s definitely possible, but it takes a lot of patience and tenacity.

In the end, we won our bet with Whole Foods Market and decided to put that money to good use. Instead of splurging on filet mignon and fabulous desserts, we asked Whole Foods Market to donate it to our local food bank. They graciously said yes, again.

You can read more about my family’s adventure on my blog:

True Food Movement

30 Day Whole Foods Thrifty Challenge

The Whole Foods Value Tour

The Food we Bought

Everyday Bread recipe

Have you ever tried to shrink your food budget? I’d love to hear how it worked for you.

Whole Story

• No antibiotics, ever
• Raised with access to the outdoors
• Fed only organic, vegetarian feed

Remember, this sale is for one day only, so make sure you stop by today, February 17^th.

Availability and limits may vary by region, so you can contact your store for details. While supplies last. Most of our stores do not provide rain checks for sales like this.

All of our producer partners are rated by the Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step™Animal Welfare Rating program. Learn more about the rating standards here.

I once overheard a fellow food-lover say, “If you don’t know what to do with chicken, I don’t know what to do with you!” I laughed, because it really does seem like you can do almost anything with chicken, short of eating it raw or dipping it in chocolate. But the truth is, some people are new to cooking overall (like my college-kid sister) and learning how to cook chicken is a great way to start.

If you’re new to cooking chicken or just need some inspiration, here are some fabulous recipes that highlight the simple goodness of organic chicken to get you started:

Easy Marinated Roasted Chicken

Baked Orange Chicken

Baked Chicken with Spinach, Pears and Blue Cheese

Home-Style Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Learn to Cook: Whole Grilled Chicken

Oven-Fried Chicken

Roasted Lemon-Herb Chicken

You can find more recipes and info about organic chicken here.

What do you plan on cooking with the organic whole chickens from today’s sale? Share your favorite recipes and tips for our first-time chicken chefs and don’t forget to stop by our stores today to pick up fresh, ready-to-cook organic chickens for .99 per pound!

Whole Story

Availability and limits may vary by region, so you can contact your store for details. While supplies last. Most of our stores do not provide rain checks for sales like this.

All jokes aside, nothing says kitchen success than the simple joy of pulling a flavorful, juicy roasted chicken out of the oven. When it’s an organic chicken you’re cooking, there’s really something to celebrate!

In order to be certified organic, chicken farms must follow a strict set of guidelines and be inspected annually by a third-party certification body to ensure those standards are met. These standards include:

• The birds must be raised organically no later than two days after they hatch.
• They must be fed certified organic feed for their entire lives. Organic feed cannot contain animal by-products, antibiotics or genetically engineered grains and cannot be grown using persistent pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
• It is prohibited to give drugs, antibiotics and hormones to organic birds (please note: federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in raising poultry).
• All birds must have outdoor access.

Plus, all of the chickens sold at Whole Foods Market are rated using the Global Animal Partnership’s 5-Step™ Animal Welfare Rating program!

Check out these mouth-watering recipes featuring chicken:

Remember, our sale is one day only, so don’t forget to stop by our continental US stores this Friday, February 17^th to pick up some organic whole chickens for .99 per pound!

Whole Story

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.

Whole Story

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.

Whole Story

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?

Whole Story

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?

Whole Story

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.

Whole Story