Whole Foods Market & The Memphis Farmers Market

by poplar, October 28, 2009 | Permalink

We were so happy to sponsor the Memphis Farmers Market 2009 Harvest Celebration! It is Sunday, November 8th, 4pm-7pm at Central Station downtown. Memphis Farmers Market will be closing out the season in style, and we will be there to help celebrate!

Premier Memphis restaurants will be offering tastings from their delicious menus- Food from Restaurant Iris, Cafe Society, Interim Restaurant, Majestic Grill and of course, Whole Foods Market- just to name a few. There will be an open bar, live music and live and silent auctions! All proceeds will benefit the 2010 operation of the Memphis Farmers Market- a worthy cause to say the least.

Whole Foods Market is donating a “stock your pantry” shopping spree of our exclusive brand 365 products worth $500! How great would that be right before the holidays? We are also donating a full Thanksgiving dinner for 10-12 featuring our fresh, all natural turkey and all the delicious sides. Other great prizes will be available from generous community businesses and services in both the live and silent auction.

Everyone will receive a FEED 100 bag from Whole Foods Market and the Memphis Farmers Market. This is a great reusable bag (perfect for shopping the store and the market)! Each of these bags fund 100 meals for school children in Rewanda. Whole Foods Market is happy to make that donation in honor of each ticket holder.

Tickets are available at our customer service desk! $45 a ticket, or $80 a pair

You don’t want to miss this fun fall eveing. Great food, great prizes, and great people, all to benefit a great attribute to our Memphis community- The Memphis Farmers Market! See you there!

Happy Birthday to us!

by poplar, October 21, 2009 | Permalink

It seems like just yesterday we were hanging the Whole Foods Market sign on the sign of the building! We were diligently planning store upgrades and grand opening events, and eagerly anticipating jumping in to the Memphis community. It’s been such a fast year! This weekend, Whole Foods Market Memphis is officially one year old, and we plan to celebrate in Whole Foods Market style! WITH FOOD!

This Sunday from 1pm-4pm, come join us in our festivities. Of course, there will be cake! And we will be hosting a chili cooking contest in which you get to be the judge! Our team members will be fighting for the title of meanest Chili in Memphis, and they certainly aren’t holding back. Everything from no bean chili, to vegetarian chili, white chili to turkey chili- it definitely won’t be an easy call for the judges. But it sure will be fun to try. Tasters not only get to taste the great recipes, they get to take them home! And tasting cups will be randomly marked for fun Whole Foods Market prizes.

In addition, we will have birthday dancing, lots of sampling and birthday door prizes! Make sure you come see us.

Things that we are proud of in this, our first year…

*Working with over 25 local farmers and artisans to bring amazing products to our shelves while supporting the local community.

*Raising over $1800 in 10¢ bag refunds for local charities. That’s 18,000 refunds, and 18,000 bags you helped us keep out of landfills!

*Our full circle composting in which we send elligible food waste from the store and have it returned to us as rich, earth friendly compost.

*Our new Gimmie5 program that gives Memphians a way to recycle #5 plastic! (See last blog post)

*The amazing organizations that we have formed solid relationships with- from Edible Memphis, to the Memphis Farmers Market, to Shelby Farms Park Alliance to ArtsMemphis. Just to name a few

*Our 5-step animal welfare program in which the treatment of farm animals is as highly regarded as the fact that they aren’t treated with antibiotics or hormones, that they are fed vegetarian diets and the quality of the meat is unparalleled.

*MOSTLY, we’re proud that you support us. Proud that we have customers that aren’t just faces, they are friends! Proud that you look to us as a resource for natural and organic, for living green and being healthy, and of course, for amazing delicious food. And we hope to keep upping the bar- keep serving the Memphis community, and always keep true to our values.  So Happy Birthday to us! We thank you so much!

……And Many More…….

Recycle More Memphis! High 5!

by poplar, October 11, 2009 | Permalink

We all know Memphis is- let’s say “slightly behind”- when it comes to living green. Many cities have recycling bins 3x the size of the trash recepticals for residential pick up, because that should be the proper ratio! Many cities recycle several plastics, mixed glass and even designate special “hazardous material” pick up days! Many cities offer cash incentives for recycling! We may not be there yet, but we’re getting there Memphis! Don’t give up!

As a city, Memphis doesn’t take #5 plastics for recycling. But so many things are packaged in #5 food-grade light weight plastic. Yogurt, medicine, detergent, butter- you name it. And if you’re anything like me, your heart sinks a little when you flip that container over and realize it’s going right in the trash. As a company, Whole Foods Market realized that we package in #5 plastic, but don’t offer a way to recycle it- and that just isn’t the way we operate. We believe in sustainability whole-heartedly.

BUT NOW THERE IS A WAY! Whole Foods Market was thrilled to partner with Preserve on the GIMMIE 5 program! If you aren’t familiar with Preserve- they make the most amazing things out of recycled plastic. Kitchenware, toothbrushes, razors etc. They are super stylie and more importantly, 100% recycled. And now you can turn your #5 plastic in to these super cool Preserve items!

Whole Foods Market now has a receptical in the dairy isle for your #5 plastic! You bring it in, we ship it to Preserve and they turn it in to all kinds of cool things! Which we sell in the store! And when your Preserve items are worn out- do it all over again! The Preserve items can be recycled too!

This program is sponsored by Stonyfield Farms and Organic Valley, because they understand the importance of being able to recycle the packaging their wonderful products come in. So help us spread the word and support the program! Check out the signs in the store for more details, or visit www.preserveproducts.com/gimmie5

Let’s get recycling!