Community Corner
Shop At Whole Foods to Donate to Bridgeport Rescue Mission
January 8, 2014 – When Whole Foods shoppers
stock up on all natural grocery items, buy their morning coffee or purchase a
meal from our salad bar next Wednesday, they will be helping to warm and feed
the impoverished in our area this bitter winter.
Whole Foods Market Fairfield is thrilled to
announce the first beneficiary of its first five percent day of the year, the
Bridgeport Rescue Mission (BRM). On Wednesday, January 15, the Fairfield store
will donate five percent of all total sales to BRM, a non-profit organization
that provides tens of thousands of meals to the homeless and needy in the
Bridgeport and South Norwalk areas every year. Whole Foods Fairfield will also
be hosting a BRM “Stuff a Truck” food drive; they will be providing shoppers
with a list of canned food items most needed in their kitchen and collecting
the items to stuff their truck with donations at the end of the day.
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“We are
very excited to start the new year by giving back to the local community,” said
Store Team Leader Jonathan Martin. “The 5% Day is a great way to help the
Bridgeport Rescue Mission provide healthy food to people in the Fairfield area
who struggle to afford nutritious meals.”
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BRM’s food outreach program includes mobile
kitchens that visit impoverished neighborhoods in Bridgeport and South Norwalk;
pantry box deliveries to families struggling to make ends meet and a
Thanksgiving drive that donates thousands of food boxes and coats to families
in low-income areas.
“At this
time of the year with many extra people coming in from the cold for hot meals
and having to buy more fuel oil to keep our facilities warm in frigid
temperatures, a program like Whole Foods 5% day is a tremendous help to Bridgeport
Rescue Mission and the people in our care,” said BRM’s Executive Director Terry
Wilcox.
In addition to its food outreach program, BRM
also runs emergency shelter services, a guest house for women and children, a
new life discipleship program and a clothing program.
WFM Fairfield is located at 350 Grasmere
Avenue, Fairfield, Ct. 06824 and will be open from 8 am to 10 pm on Jan. 15.
Five Percent Days are part of Whole Foods Market’s commitment
to support environmental and educational causes in their community. Four times per year, each store identifies
local organizations that align with Whole Foods Market’s commitment, and that
make a real community impact. Often,
these days raise $2,500 or more for participating organizations.
The Fairfield Whole Foods has held ten five
percent days and donated more than $30,000 since it opened in June, 2011. Here
is a list of all Fairfield Whole Foods Market’s past 5% Events:
July 2011 – Wholesome Wave Foundation, $8,089
September 2011 – Fuel for Learning
Partnership, $2,454
January 2012 – Operation Hope, $2,655
April 2012 – Fairfield American Little League,
$2,778
July 2012 – Westport Farmers Market, $2,984
Sept. 2012- Fairfield University - $2,560
January, 2013 Ct Public Broadcasting - $2,739
April, 2014 Ichan School of Medicine at Mt.
Sinai - $3,333
July 2013 Autism Speaks - $3,324
September, 2013 - Six to Six Magnet School,
$2,908
Whole
Foods Market Fairfield is also a sponsor of the University of Bridgeport’s
Martin Luther King Jr. Volunteer Day on January 20, an event where more than
500 volunteers will help dozens of organizations with community service
projects throughout the local area.
To apply to be a recipient of a 5% day, or ask
for a donation or sponsorship, visit http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/fairfield
and fill out the sponsorship/donation form.
About
Whole Foods Market
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods
Market (wholefoodsmarket.com,
NASDAQ: WFM) is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s
first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named
“America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” by Health magazine. The company's motto
“Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures its mission to ensure
customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness,
enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement.
Thanks to the company’s nearly 60,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has
been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by
FORTUNE magazine for 14 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2010, the company had
sales of more than $9 billion and currently has more than 300 stores in the
United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.