Durham Bulls Partnership in Full Swing

by durham, June 17, 2009 | Permalink

The Whole Foods Market team is having a blast at the Durham Bulls Tuesday home games this season! We are the 9 inning vacation sponsor, making it possible for all fans to get two tickets for the price of one at every Tuesday home game all summer long!

There are 3 main components of the Tuesday home games partnership. The first is the twofer tickets described above. The second is a food drive component. Bring to a Tuesday home game, any 365 Everyday Value brand food product from Whole Foods Market to donate to the Food Bank of Eastern NC, and the Durham Bulls will give you a free Bulls Cap! It’s a sweet deal for everyone involved! We’ve collected as much as 500 pounds of food for the Food Bank at one Tuesday night game!

The third component of the partnership brings in local business and community support opportunities. Three special Tuesday home games will have even more excitement in tow around this theme:

Tuesday, July 7 - Edible Piedmont will co-sponsor the game and give out free copies of their wonderful magazine that features local farmers and producers in and around the Piedmont of NC. Join us that night to get your copy of Edible Piedmont.

Tuesday, August 4 - Local Food Tasting Night - Come out to sample fabulous products from some of our favorite local vendors. The Pound Cake Company, Accidental Baker and Larry’s Beans are just a few of those who will join us. Gates open at 6 pm and we’ll have the samples ready!

Tuesday, September 1 - Communities in Schools of Durham Partnership Night - On the last Tuesday night home game of the season the Durham Bulls will donate $1 from every ticket sale to Communities in Schools to help increase their programming for the coming school year.

June 2: Gluten-free Fair

by durham, May 28, 2009 | Permalink

Living with a gluten-allergy or Celiac Disease can be frustrating and challenging. One of our team members at Whole Foods Market, Lee Tobin, is one of the many people who lives with Celiac Disease and deals with those challenges every day! While a team member in our Chapel Hill store, Lee began experimenting with Gluten-free baking on his time, developing recipes that revaled conventional goods in flavor and texture! Lee’s committment to creating high quality gluten free products that also met the Whole Foods Market Quality Standards is the reason that the Whole Foods Market Gluten Free Bakehouse came to be OCtober of 2004.

We are proud to offer many items from the Gluten Free Bakehouse in our store here in Durham, and are thrilled to welcome Lee’s team here next Tuesday, June 2 from 3:00 - 6:00 to demo some of their products and answer any questions our customers may have about the Gluten Free Bakehouse!

And they won’t be alone in their gluten-free demoing! We’re turning their appearance into a Gluten-Free Fair, featuring 6 other demos of wonderful gluten-free goodies. So, join us from 3:00 - 6:00 next Tuesday and leave feeling like your choices aren’t quite so limited when shopping for gluten-free items!

Regional Product Demo: Jack’s Harvest Organic Baby Food

by durham, May 27, 2009 | Permalink

Bring baby by on Sunday, May 31st from 11:30A-3:30 pm for a FREE taste and see why Durham parents and babies are buzzing about our new regional product: Jack’s Harvest frozen organic baby food.

Along with a delicious sample of both Jack’s Harvest Tango with Mango and Butternut Squash-ed Apple flavors, you will receive recipe cards and a COUPON for savings on your Jack’s Harvest purchase.

Inspired by their quest to find the healthiest, most nutritious and delicious baby food for their babies, friends Heather Schoenrock and Connie Pope founded Jack’s Harvest. Mom-owned and operated, Jack’s Harvest organic baby food is gently prepared by hand in small batches, pureed to perfection, then quickly frozen to capture nature’s fresh flavor, vibrant color, rich texture and essential nutrients. A dash of organic herb or spice tempts little taste buds and adds extra health benefits. Adorable heart-shaped frozen cubes bring smiles.  Jack’s Harvest baby food is USDA certified 100% organic and contains no preservatives, artificial flavors or colors, salt, sugar or fillers.

Jack’s Harvest frozen organic baby food supports our mission to provide customers the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful and naturally preserved foods. It is a fantastic regional company and we are happy to have their product join our shelves.  (http://www.jacksharvest.com/press-Sept08.html)

Our FREEZER shelves are stocked with Jack’s Harvest Tango with Mango and Butternut Squash-ed Apples so even if you can’t come by on Sunday, you can buy it anytime.

Jack’s Harvest frozen organic baby food is the first step toward a lifetime of healthy, adventuresome eating for your child - because your baby has good taste!

For more information, please visit: http://www.jacksharvest.com.

Jack’s Harvest isn’t just for babies.  View creative recipe ideas for big kids at: http://www.jacksharvest.com/recipes.html

It was All About Beer! Local Beer… and local food!

by durham, May 11, 2009 | Permalink

Our Head Chef, Bobby, prepared Local Strawberry Flambe on the dining room floor, which then topped local Maple View Dairy Ice Cream! It was a spectacular show to have fire on the floor!

Other local items on the menu included blue-deviled eggs, Sandy Creek Goat Cheese, mild Italian sausage, tenderloin, Poulet Rouge, and local catfish.  We’re looking forward to our next Local Dinner in the fall. Watch our website for dates; it will likely be in early October and we would LOVE to wow you with our next spectacular show of local food and drink!

A Toast to Durham Beer Lovers

by durham, April 8, 2009 | Permalink

Durham beer drinkers, rejoice! You have a bounty of delicious beer drinking options in your backyard. We are blessed to have some of the most talented beer makers in the world producing from a NC zip code.

From Highland Brewing Co., to Duck Rabbit, to Carolina Brewery, NC beer wins award after award for originality, quality, and it’s only getting better with new additions coming soon. Our town also boast great places to buy and enjoy beer that is not just watery and yellow.

But this entry is not about the makers, it’s about the drinkers.

Durham Whole Foods Market beer shoppers need to know what they are a part of. Since I have worked in the beer world for the last (almost) year, and certainly participated enough on the consumer end of it, I have gotten to know some excellent beer people and have met many brewery and distribution company representatives. And guess what - they all LOVE Durham and its beer drinkers. Be proud to be part of a beer elite - not beer snobs, mind you, but a market that is seriously loved by all craft brewers in this country. Beer in Durham rivals the scene of other meccas, like California and Michigan (yes, the Yankees know their beer, too). You could blame it on supply, you could blame it on demand. But the perfect storm for beer in NC exists in Durham, and we get to take advantage.

Whole Foods Market in Durham has 20+ local beer selections, and many others worth enjoying as well. And if there’s something you’re looking for that you don’t see, just ask and we’ll be happy to bring it in for you. So when you’re enjoying your next purchase, raise a glass to your Durham brethren. You are a part of something great.

And, as always, support your local brewery. It saves gas, tastes great, and keeps the money in the state!

One way to support local food and your local brewery: attend our bi-annual Local Food Dinner on May 8, featuring a 4-course meal using almost all local ingredients. Each course will be paired with a great local beer too! And a special bonus, meet All About Beer’s Julie Johnson as she talks us through each beer selection.

Meet our Newly-Famed Bulk Aisle!

by durham, March 13, 2009 | Permalink

As some of you may have noticed, our bulk aisle at Durham has been getting a lot of attention lately. It’s been pretty exciting around here with all of the national press coming in and filming Rebecca Curry, famed for her blog about how to eat healthy for only a dollar a day. She did some of her shopping here at our store – namely in the bulk aisle.

In thinking about this, it has come to our attention that many people just don’t know a lot about our bulk aisle. How do you use it effectively and what ARE some of those things? Nutritional yeast, huh? So we thought it would be a great idea to put together a little workshop on how to use the bulk aisle effectively and also talk about some of the yummy things that are in it.

On March 26, we will be leading a workshop right here in the store – right in the bulk aisle! We will share tips and strategies on how to best use the bulk bins. We’ll also be sharing some recipes and talk about some of those interesting things that are there. We may even do some cooking right in bulk aisle!

If this sounds interesting to you, please register at the customer service desk (or call 286.2290) to come and join us at 6 pm on March 26. You might be surprised at how much fun bulk shopping can be!

We Cater!

by durham, March 5, 2009 | Permalink

Did you know that Whole Foods Market Durham offers great options for all of your catering needs? From business meetings to weddings, we can cater your event with the high quality foods that you have grown to love from Whole Foods Market.

And better yet, when you order your Catering from us, you can rest assured that you will be feeding your family great tasting food that meets all our quality standards, including meat that was raised without added hormones or antibiotics on a vegetarian diet, eggs from free-roaming chickens, and ingredients free of artificial preservatives, colors, sweeteners and flavors!

We offer an extensive vegetarian and vegan menu and we can even do vegan wedding cakes! And we’ll offer you free delivery on all orders of $50.

We recognize that every event has a budget. And our catering specialist is always willing to work out a menu for any budget. If you don’t see what you want on our Catering Menu, there are so many more options! Anything that’s available in our chef’s case is also available for your event. Just ask!

And we even have great daily specials. Monday - Friday we offer a Morning Meeting Special, $1 off per-person Bagel Platters. Tuesdays are Bag Lunch Days. Get $2 off every bag lunch (minimum eight) for your lunch meeting. And on Saturdays and Sundays let us make your family gathering a little easier with $5 off medium and large platters of cheese, fruit and crudités.

Let us cater your next big (or small) event! Your colleagues, friends and family deserve catering that’s free of artificial ingredients, colors, hormones and trans-fats. And that’s what we are here to offer.

One Sexy Monk Fish!

by durham, February 18, 2009 | Permalink

Meet Jezebel Monk Fish. Friday the 13th was a very lucky day for Jezebel.

Jezebel Monk Fish had a super exciting Friday the 13th!

She got sweet Valentine’s Day kisses from over 100 Durham locals in our first Annual Valentine’s Kiss A Fish Event. But shhhh… don’t tell Jezebel that all those people were just puckering up for free lobster tail! That’s right. Over 100 people chose to pucker up and lay a big wet one on Jezebel for the chance to get buy-one-get-one-free lobster tails!

We took pictures of all the kissers so that they could take home a commemorative “I kissed a fish” postcard to their sweetheart. Really now… what says “I love you” more than “I kissed a fish for you, honey!”???

If you missed all the fun this year, keep an eye out next year. Jezebel’s cousin is likely to show up for another session in the kissing booth sometime close to Valentine’s Day again next year!

Store Team Leader, Petra Fugger, puckers up to give Jezebel a kiss!

Composting at Whole Foods Market Durham

by durham, February 4, 2009 | Permalink

We get a lot of inquiries every week from customers who are concerned about the environment and how we do our part to make a difference. We’re always pleased to tell them the many ways that Whole Foods Market in Durham is contributing to greening our planet, and composting is often a big part of that discussion.

Behind the scenes we’re composting every food waste material possible. From the fruit peels in our cut fruit operations, to the scraps generated in the prepared foods kitchen. Brooks, our local composting company, picks up multiple large trash cans full of compostable materials every week from our store.

But don’t worry, good food isn’t often composted. Every day we donate edible product that cannot be sold (as long as it isn’t expired!) to the Durham Rescue Mission, the Durham Food Bank and Urban Ministries of Durham to feed people who are hungry in our community.

Many of our customers don’t realize that they too can play a big role in composting at our store! There are composting containers next to the trash and recycling receptacles. And you can compost more than just food waste! Our to-go salad bar containers can be composted, as well as the brown boxes for hot bar food. Paper soup cups and coffee cups can also go right into the compost container.

In addition to composting, we go a step farther in our recycling options as well. We recycle plastics through Save A Tree, a company than can recycle ALL PLASTICS (not just the numbered plastics that most county agencies take). So not only can you throw in your bottles for recycling, but plastic plates, clam shell containers, silverware, lids (like the ones to soup cups or coffee cups), and any plastic wrappers can go right in our plastic recycling receptacle as well.

So we reach out to you, our loyal customers, to help us further our green mission every time you enjoy a meal or snack in our cafe. Take a moment as you leave to speparate your waste into the proper containers. You can compost all food and paper waste and recycle all your plastics, aluminum and glass. See if you can leave without putting a single item into the landfill-destined trash can!

Hydrating for Healthy Aging

by durham, February 2, 2009 | Permalink

On Saturday, we at Whole Foods Market Durham, were pleased to host Dr. Paul Agris from The American Foundation on Aging Research (AFAR) for a workshop on healthy aging. AFAR is the only non-profit organization facilitating research on aging in the United States.

Ten of our regular customers attended the class; ages ranged from mid-twenties to folks in their seventies. All interested in one topic: aging gracefully while increasing their bodies abilities to fight of disease.

Dr. Agris’ presentation was incredibly informative, full of facts and figures and graphs that would boggle the mind; all supported by scientific research.  One slide indicated the amount of money that American’s over the age of 65 are spending each year on prescription medication, far more than any other country!

So I took away a lot of great information from the presentation, but the one piece that sticks out in my mind more than anything else, is that about hydration. Basically, if we would drink more water, our bodies would eliminate harmful “things” from our body, quickly, before they become problematic to our health.

Now I won’t pretend like I retained every bit of information that Dr. Agris presented. But that piece, I took to heart (and to my stainless steel water bottle)! As I take a big drink of water for my health this afternoon, I ask you to think about the amount of water you drink each day. And if you knew that a few more glasses would help move contaminants out of your body more quickly, would you drink it? For your health, and longevity, I hope so!

Dr. Agris is willing to do more presentations like this in the future. If you are interested in attending a presentation by Dr. Agris at Whole Foods Market in Durham, leave me a note in the comments or let us know at the customer service desk next time you’re doing your shopping! We’d love to have him back if the interest is there.