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Video credit: Marc Hamel and Ha Lam Since Whole Foods Market has stores all over the U.S., as well as in Canada and the U.K., I rarely get the chance to meet the individuals that receive loans through our Local Producer Loan Program opens in a new tab. They meet with representatives from their respective regions who visit their businesses, check out their products, and help them through the loan process. Every once in a while, though, I have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a loan recipient, and it’s always something that reminds me what a great program it is. So when we recently gave a loan to Progress Coffee opens in a new tab, a café and coffee roaster located right here in Austin, Texas, of course I took the opportunity to go visit. Joshua Bingaman started the café in 2004, and Progress started selling their fair-trade, organic coffee beans to our flagship store late last year. In line with their green values, the hand-roasted coffee beans are delivered to our store on bicycle! Joshua’s going to use the loan to purchase equipment which will help them increase their volume and sell to additional customers.
