SEATTLE, April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Whole Foods Market
announced today a $46,784 donation to
Solid Ground, a Seattle-based
organization with a mission to build a community to end poverty.
Throughout 2013, shoppers who visited any of the six Seattle-area Whole Foods Market stores had an
opportunity to participate in the Bag Hunger program, with a cash
donation to Solid Ground at the checkout registers.
Solid Ground will direct the funds to support its Cooking
Matters program. Classes offered in more than 65 locations
throughout Greater Seattle and
Washington State focus on
educating low-income individuals on healthy cooking skills, general
nutrition education and budgeting.
"Whole Foods Market has worked in partnership with Solid Ground
for more than six years and we love the opportunity to share this
organization's great work with our shoppers," said Joe Rogoff, Regional President at Whole Foods
Market Pacific Northwest. "As a company, we want to find ways to
create greater access to healthy eating education, and we
appreciate the work Solid Ground does every day to make this a
reality. "
"We are grateful for this donation from Whole Foods Market and
its compassionate community of shoppers. It is an investment that
will help improve nutrition among vulnerable people, thereby
addressing an important aspect of poverty in our community," said
Gordon McHenry, Jr., President &
CEO of Solid Ground.
For more information on Whole Foods Market's community giving
efforts, please visit:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/caring-communities/community-giving.
Or, to learn more about Solid Ground, visit:
http://www.solid-ground.org/Pages/Default.aspx.
About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980
in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods
Market (wholefoodsmarket.com, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural
and organic food retailer. As America's first national certified
organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named "America's Healthiest
Grocery Store" by Health magazine. The company's motto,
"Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet"™ captures its mission to
ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and
happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and
environmental improvement. Thanks to the company's more than
69,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of
the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by FORTUNE
magazine for 15 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2011, the company
had sales of more than $10 billion
and currently has more than 325 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
About Solid Ground
Each year more than 55,000
King County residents come to
Solid Ground to address urgent food, housing and transportation
needs, and build skills to overcome poverty and thrive. Through 40
years of innovation, partnership and action, Solid Ground has
helped create many of our community's most effective anti-poverty
programs, including Cooking Matters healthy cooking and nutrition
education classes.
SOURCE Whole Foods Market