An end to poverty on our Whole Planet?

by arroyo, March 17, 2009 | Permalink

Whole Planet Foundation’s annual fundraising campaign has already reached its goal of over 1 million dollars to end poverty worldwide, and it has only been 4 weeks.

For anyone who doesn’t already know about it, Whole Planet Foundation is a 501c3 organization which has as its sole mission the eradication of poverty in the world. That’s it. That simple.

How do they accomplish this goal? Through microcredit to those impoverished individuals. Whole Planet Foundation works with the Grameen Trust, which was created by Nobel Laureate Muhammud Yunus. We locate communities where we source product, and begin centers to bring the women of the area together. The target of the loans is women, because children and women are the poorest people on the planet. And when a woman’s income grows or changes, it has direct impacts on her family.

The Foundation was started about 4 years ago, and we are now in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Kenya, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, East Timoor, and Queens, NY. The loans on average are $200, which the women use to start their own business. The business has nothing to do with Whole Foods Market- they don’t have to sell product to us, or check with us on their decision.

There are more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 a day (in US currency). Today through March 31st at all U.S. Whole Foods Market locations, you can empower the poor. Make a donation of $1 at the registers and help raise $1 million for microcredit. Last year, thanks to shopper generosity, we were able to expand into Africa to fund microcredit loans for the very poor in Ethiopia and Kenya. This year we are expanding to a community in Peru where Whole Foods Market sources onions, with additional potential projects in communities in Mexico, Haiti, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay.

I met some of the women who have received these loans. The success they have had is immediately apparent on the faces and in the lives of their children. For many, it represents a chance at education, and ending a family cycle of poverty. Check out more information at: http://www.wholeplanetfoundation.org/about/

Locavore Grows As SCFC Comes to Arroyo.

by arroyo, March 3, 2009 | Permalink

We are currently the only retailer for South Central Farmers’ Cooperative. By selling their produce at retail prices, they are able to offer the organic produce to community members at a lower price, extending access to high quality food for all. Some call that margin blending, we call it good business.

Shopping local and organic makes a huge difference for our community, our planet, our food diversification. Choose SCFC for their beautiful loose leaf spinach, their grand cilantro, colorful greens, and you make a difference in the lives of the farmers, and the community of South Central Los Angeles.