Empower the Poor $1 at a Time

I love my job at Whole Planet Foundation opens in a new tab. Every day is an opportunity to help empower the poor through microcredit in communities around the globe opens in a new tab where Whole Foods Market sources product. Whole Planet Foundation funds microlending projects in communities where Whole Foods Market sources coffee from communities in East Timor, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya and Nicaragua; bananas from communities in Costa Rica and Honduras; tea from India and Nepal; rice from Thailand; and produce and dairy from the New York City area. Microcredit is small loans - around $200 - provided to impoverished individuals who use the funds to start their own home-based businesses to lift themselves out of poverty, like these women.

There are more than 1 billion people living on less than $1 a day (in US currency). Today through March 31st at all U.S. Whole Foods Market locations, you can empower the poor. Make a donation of $1 at the registers and help raise $1 million for microcredit. Last year, thanks to shopper generosity, we were able to expand into Africa to fund microcredit loans for the very poor in Ethiopia and Kenya. This year we are expanding to a community in Peru where Whole Foods Market sources onions, with additional potential projects in communities in Mexico, Haiti, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Paraguay. You can give with confidence as Whole Foods Market covers 100% of Whole Planet Foundation operating costs. Please join us in empowering the poor through microcredit, and donate $1 at a store or online opens in a new tab as part of this annual campaign opens in a new tab to raise $1 million for the very poor in our communities around the globe. Visit www.wholeplanetfoundation.org opens in a new tab to learn more. Thank you.