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.