Community Giving

Whole Foods Market is a company with a conscience.  We believe passionately in supporting the communities we serve.  On a local basis, we are actively involved in our communities by supporting local food banks with daily donations, sponsoring neighborhood events and organizations, and by donating goods and services to local 501(c)3 not-for-profit organizations.

Community Giving Programs

Currently, we have three donations programs:

5% Community Support Days: Whole Foods Market donates 5% of a chosen day’s sales to a specified non-profit organization.  We work with 4 organizations a year with this program, and share these days with our 4 sister stores in the Metro Chicago area.

One Dime At A Time: Whole Foods Market customers receive a 10 cent credit for bringing in their own bag, and they can decide to donate it to the specified non-profit organization.  We work with 4 organizations a year with this program, and share these partnerships between our 4 sister stores in the Metro Chicago area.

Partnership Opportunities: This would be any out of store project that Whole Foods Market could participate in.  This includes product donations and monetary support, but we rarely give monetary support.  This is the most common form of donation.  Partnership Opportunities can be broken down into 3 categories:

• Event Assistance (single event or a series of events)
• Donations (usually product donation for charity purposes)
• Project Support (community gardens, mural production, etc.)

We offer various donations to 501(c)3 organizations to help meet their needs and goals.  Whole Foods Market accepts donations applications year-round, and works from a pre-determined donations budget.  Please apply for whichever community giving programs you feel are appropriate.

To request a donation or to be a recipient of one of our community giving programs, please complete our electronic donation application, or download our local partnerships packet and complete it and return it to Bridget Mitchell at mw.kbs.marketing@wholefoods.com.  E-mail is the preferred method of communication, but you may drop the application off in person at the Customer Service Desk.  However, without an appointment we are unable to provide a meeting.  Please note that we require at least 8 weeks’ advance notice to consider any donation request.  Due to the large volume of requests we receive, we unfortunately cannot honor every request, and will only contact you if we can provide a donation for your organization.

We do not donate to individuals, individuals seeking pledges, multiple requests from the same organization, or organizations and/or causes outside of Chicago city limits.

For questions or more information, please email mw.kbs.marketing@wholefoods.com.

Store Tours

Whole Foods Market Lincoln Park is always excited to have special visitors!  We try to accommodate as many requests for tours as possible; however, due to the volume of requests we receive, and limitations on staff and scheduling, we are unable to always grant every request.  Please see our guidelines about store tours below.  Please feel free to email  mw.kbs.marketing at wholefoods.com with any questions.

General Store Tours (including tours that focus on the store itself and the history of Whole Foods Market):

• Offered on Wednesday mornings
• Limit is 4 tours per month
• Tours may not exceed more than 1 hour in length
• Maximum capacity is 20 people (for larger groups or special requirements, please email  mw.kbs.marketing at wholefoods.com)
• Tours are granted on a first come, first served  basis
• Tour requests must submitted with at least 4 weeks’ notice

To request a general store tour, please email  mw.kbs.marketing at wholefoods.com.

Healthy Eating/Nutrition-Focused Store Tours:

• Offered on Tuesday mornings
• Limit is 4 per month
• Tours may not exceed more than 1 hour in length
• Maximum capacity is 20 people (for larger groups or special requirements, please email  mw.kbs.marketing at wholefoods.com)
• Tours are granted on a first come, first served  basis
• Tour requests must submitted with at least 4 weeks’ notice

To request a healthy eating/nutrition-focused tour, please email  karen.formanski at wholefoods.com.