AUSTIN, Texas (January 22, 2003) Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI), the world's largest natural and organic foods supermarket, announced today it is a recipient of the 2002 Annual Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award.
The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy presents the Annual Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Award to organizations exhibiting exemplary practices in philanthropic initiatives while demonstrating an outstanding commitment to principles of corporate citizenship. The Committee is co-chaired by Paul Newman, CEO and president of Newman's Own, and Ken Derr, former Chevron CEO and chairman.
“Caring about our communities and our environment is one of the core values Whole Foods Market was founded on more than 20 years ago, and we have made it our goal as a company to support worthy organizations,” said John Mackey, president, CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods Market. “Our team members from coast to coast humbly, but proudly, strive to make a difference out there and this award reflects their dedication. It is an honor for their commitment to philanthropy to be nationally recognized.”
Whole Foods Market is dedicated to making a difference in each and every community it serves. The company donates a minimum of five percent of their after-tax profits to a wide variety of community and non-profit organizations. Each of the company's more than 140 stores hosts a quarterly community day; five percent of the day's sales are donated to a local non-profit organization in the store's neighborhood. Whole Foods Market also offers each of its full time team members 20 paid community service hours per year to encourage them to volunteer in the community with a non-profit organization of their choice. This equates to more than 420,000 hours available annually.
The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy, the only national forum of business CEOs and Chairpersons with an agenda exclusively focused on corporate giving, selected both Whole Foods Market and the Target Corporation as recipients of the 2002 Annual Excellence in Corporate Philanthropy Awards.
