Whole Cities Invests $639,000 to Advance Community Health

AUSTIN, Texas, November 13, 2024 /3BL/ - Whole Cities, a Whole Foods Market Foundation project working to broaden access to fresh, healthy food and nutrition education, announced today that it will award 71 Community First Grants to nonprofit organizations in the United States and British Columbia. This year’s grantees will receive an average of $9,000 each for a total investment of over $639,000. 

Founded in 2014, Whole Cities builds collaborative partnerships with community-led organizations to foster resilient, equitable food systems and transform community health. During the past 10 years, the project has partnered with over 332 nonprofits across 169 cities in the U.S. and Canada, contributing more than $5 million to local communities.

Whole Cities’ annual Community First Grant Program supports local partnerships between Whole Foods Market Team Members (employees) and nonprofits with programs serving adults and/or older youth that expand long-term access to fresh, healthy food and/or nutrition education. Team Members nominate eligible, locally led nonprofit organizations for the grant. Throughout the grant year, they participate in opportunities that support their partner’s mission.

“Since its inception, Whole Cities has believed in the power of homegrown solutions that are tailored to the goals of individual communities,” Dianna Purcell, Director of Programs for Whole Cities. “This year’s cohort of Community First Grant partners demonstrates the diversity of approaches that this work can take as leaders across the U.S. and Canada work to improve access to fresh healthy food and nutrition education for their neighbors.”

The 2024 – 2025 Community First Grant partners span 54 cities in 25 U.S. states and 1 Canadian province. Their projects include:

• 23 nutrition education and healthy cooking classes
• 12 community gardens
• 10 urban farms
• 8 agricultural skills development programs
• 7 special projects
• 5 farmer’s markets, co-ops and grocery stores
• 3 mobile markets
• 2 SNAP and WIC incentive programs
• 1 pop-up markets and CSAs

Here’s a snapshot of how some of these Community First Grant partners are transforming their local food landscape and advancing community health:

• Chef Angels — This nonprofit in San Diego, California has a mission is to uplift, educate, and inspire underserved youth in their community through a culinary education. They offer teens and young adults immediate, short-term support and the tools and resources to develop long-term resilience and improved quality of life. 
   
• Food Assistance Match — Based in Bellevue, Pennsylvania, this community partner manages a SNAP incentive program that doubles the value of food assistance benefits at select farmer’s markets to bridge the gap between food-insecure populations and local farmers. 
   
• The Food Project — This Lincoln, Massachusetts nonprofit leads agricultural skills development programs that aim to create a productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. 
   
• The Refugee Collective — This 20-acre organic urban farm in Austin, Texas creates livelihood opportunities by reconnecting refugees from traditional farming cultures to land in their new communities and increasing food access through regenerative agriculture. 
   
• Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice — This six-time grantee is working to rebuild and improve underserved neighborhoods in the Bronx, New York by empowering individuals through education, advocacy, and community engagement.

Since launching the Community First Grant program in 2016, Whole Cities has awarded 477 grants in 161 cities, investing over $3.4 million. 288 Team Members from 153 Whole Foods Market stores and every store support office have participated.

For more information on Whole Cities’ Community First Grant Program and other community engagement work, visit wholecities.org.

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ABOUT WHOLE CITIES

Whole Cities is a project of Whole Foods Market Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization founded by Whole Foods Market based in Austin, Texas. Whole Cities has worked alongside more than 332 community-based organizations in more than 169 cities in the U.S. and Canada to improve neighborhood health through collaborative partnerships, nutrition education, and broader access to fresh, healthy food. Through vibrant grant programs, Whole Cities supports community gardens, urban farms, pop-up produce stands, agriculture skills development, farmers’ markets, mobile markets, healthy cooking classes and other community-directed initiatives to build thriving local food systems and improve health. For more information on Whole Cities and its programs, visit wholecities.org. For ongoing news and updates, follow Whole Foods Market Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn.

Media Contact:

Nikki Newman-Sobhani
[email protected]