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Home My WebLink AboutID-2734 City of Palo Alto (ID # 2734) City Council Informational Report Report Type: Special Orders of the Day Meeting Date: 4/9/2012 April 09, 2012 Page 1 of 1 (ID # 2734) Title: Community Partnership Presentation Subject: Community Partnership Presentation - Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and Whole Foods Market From: City Manager Lead Department: Community Services Attachments: : Whole Foods Market Fact Sheet (DOCX) Prepared By: Greg Betts, Director, Community Services Department Head: Greg Betts, Director, Community Services City Manager Approval: James Keene, City Manager History of Whole Foods Market in Palo Alto Whole Foods Market Palo Alto was the first market to open outside of Texas in 1989. Since then, we have contributed to the community by donating to local non-profits, sponsoring annual activities and hosting our own events on site to create a greater sense of community. We have become a staple on the corner of Emerson and Homer for both residents and professionals alike to satisfy their whole food cravings. Whole Foods Market in Palo Alto looks forward to continuing to develop long lasting community partnerships well into the future Mission of Whole Foods Market Palo Alto Whole Foods — We search for the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful and natural foods possible because we believe that food in its purest state — unadulterated by artificial additives, sweeteners, colorings and preservatives — is the best tasting and most nutritious food there is. Whole People — Our people are our company. They are passionate about healthy food and a healthy planet. They take full advantage of our decentralized, self-directed team culture and create a respectful workplace where people are treated fairly and are highly motivated to succeed. Whole Planet — We are committed to helping take care of the world around us, and our active support of organic farming and sustainable agriculture helps protect our planet. And while we assist our global neighbors through our Whole Planet Foundation’s micro-lending operations, we also step out the back door of each of our stores to support food banks, sponsor neighborhood events and donate to local non-profit groups. Community Giving Programs Our Community 5% Days are one meaningful way we give back to our community. On designated days throughout the year a total of 5% of the day’s net sales are donated to local non-profit organizations. Customers help support our selected organizations just by shopping on these 5% Days. Our most Recent 5% Day on March 28th, 2012 raised over $5,000 for the Whole Planet Foundation and Comfort the Children Our Nickels for Nonprofits program is a community giving program which features a local nonprofit for three months. During these three months, signage explaining the mission of the organization is posted throughout the store and each time a customer reuses a grocery bag five cents is donated to the featured nonprofit. It is the goal of the program to reduce our use of new bags while increasing funding for a local non-profit. Every month we work to support our local community with donations. In most cases, we prefer to support events or organizations that contribute to one or more of the following: Environmental Preservation Preventative Health Care Hunger Relief Organic Farming/Sustainable Food Resources Arts and Education Because Whole Foods Market Palo Alto believes in being an active community member, requests from other civic and charitable groups will also be considered if the organization is in the immediate vicinity of our store location, meets our core values, and funding is available. Non-Profits we have donated to: American Youth Soccer Organization Acterra Downtown Streets Team InnVision Breast Cancer Connections Environmental Volunteers Woodside Parents Nursery School Boys and Girls Club of Peninsula Adolescent Counseling Services Tom Kitayama Elementary School Ronald McDonald House at Stanford Ecumenical Hunger Program The Christmas Bureau Lytton Gardens Inc. Oshman Family JCC A Foundation Building Strength Gunn High School Palo Alto Housing Corp Ravenswood Family Health Center Solider's Angels for Veteran hospital in Menlo Park Break through the Static Palo Alto Humane Society Face AIDS National Programs: 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating System: We've chosen to partner with Global Animal Partnership to certify our producers' animal welfare practices. Global Animal Partnership is a non-profit organization dedicated to continually improving the lives of farm animals. They have developed the 5-Step Animal Welfare Rating Standards that rate how pigs, chickens and cattle are raised for meat. Standards for other species (turkey, lamb and others) are in development, so stay tuned and be sure to look for Global Animal Partnership 5-Step ratings the next time you stop by our meat department. Our Whole Trade® Guarantee- A Commitment to Ethical Trade, the Environment and Quality Products. At Whole Foods Market, we believe we have a responsibility toward all entities involved in our business: our customers, shareholders, Team Members, suppliers, the environment and, not least of all, our community. To us, community transcends the boundaries of our cities to the places from which we source our products, many of which are in developing countries. As a result, we have created the Whole Trade Guarantee, an extension of our values that lets you rest assured that you are buying the best for you, for your community, and your world. Whole Trade Guarantee products must: Meet our high Quality Standards Provide more money to producers Ensure better wages and working conditions for workers Utilize sound environmental practices Whole Foods Market Eco-Scale™ Rating System for Household Cleaning Products At Whole Foods Market® we believe it's important that consumers are able to make informed decisions about the products they buy. We also believe in doing our part to encourage a more eco-friendly household products industry. The Eco-Scale™ rating system we have developed is the first cleaning-products standards of any retailer and the most comprehensive standards of any "green cleaners" standards-setting group. Based on audits conducted by a third-party audit agency, household cleaning products are rated red, orange, yellow or green on our Eco-Scale™. Team Member Happiness Our company has been recognized by FORTUNE magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America — every year since the list began in 1998. There are lots of benefits to working at Whole Foods Market — including an open and empowering work environment, work-life balance, paid training, and our great company culture. Whole Foods Market is unique in that our team members have the opportunity to tell us what benefits are important to them. Team members vote every three years to help determine the benefits package we offer. Benefits include health insurance, paid time off, retirement savings and our generous store discount. Team Member Discount 20% off of all purchases made at any Whole Foods Market location Team Members can elect to have a health screening, and based on the result, can get up to a grand total of 30% off! Whole Foods Market also gives their team members the opportunity to apply for one of their many healthy immersion programs. These programs take place around the country on an annual basis, and are extremely beneficial and life changing. Team Members are educated about healthy eating habits, along with learning the benefits of daily exercise. Hundreds of Team Members have benefited from this program and have changed their lives for the better in the process!