Whole Foods Market Partners with FTHF and its GreenWheel Food Hub project

HONOLULU, HI (November 21, 2011) – Shoppers can help Hawai‘i’s families in need gain access to fresh, nutritious produce by donating their change at Whole Foods Market registers to provide funding for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) payment options at local farmers markets. For its current Recycle Your Change program, the grocer has partnered with Green Wheel Food Hub in an effort to connect O‘ahu farmers with individuals and families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food stamps.

“For families and shoppers struggling to make ends meet, gaining access to fresh, affordable local produce is often a struggle,” said Denise Albano, Feed the Hunger Foundation. “This partnership with Whole Foods Market is an important first step in breaking down barriers to nutritious foods and making them accessible to everyone.”

Funds raised through the Recycle Your Change program will be used to create a check-out station at the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau's Honolulu Farmers Market for shoppers under federal assistance programs. Green Wheel Food Hub is also working to expand the payment option to other local community farmers markets to establish a thriving food network.

“Whole Foods Market believes that access to fresh, all-natural and local food is a right, not a privilege and we are excited to work alongside an organization like Green Wheel Food Hub and further their mission to ensure all island residents can fill their table with fresh, local, organic foods.” said Natalie Aczon, Whole Foods Market Kāhala’s marketing supervisor. “Next time shoppers are making their own nutritious purchases at Whole Foods Market, we encourage them to take the time to donate their change – or any amount they can afford – to supporting this great effort.”

GREENWHEEL FOOD HUB:

The Problem:

According to the State of Hawaii Dept. of Human Services, in 2011, 154,496 individuals in the State of Hawaii received food stamp benefits from the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]. However, on the island of Oahu, very few farmer's markets accept SNAP benefits. As a result, fresh local produce is largely inaccessible for this significant and growing demographic. Obesity, diabetes and other diet-related health problems affect many of our lower-income residents in part because the affordable foods available are unhealthy and lack nutritive value.

The Solution:

GreenWheel Food Hub intends to help alleviate this problem by implementing the GreenWheel Grow Bucks Project; making possible the use of food stamps at many more of Oahu’s farmer’s markets. While enhancing the diets of Oahu's food stamp recipients, the Grow Bucks Project will also serve to assist Oahu's farming families by providing a conduit to convert some of the approximately $33.5 million in monthly federal SNAP benefits into a much needed boost in local farmer's market revenues.

GreenWheel Food Hub also recognizes the growing problem of “food deserts” : urban and rural communities that lack access to fresh food and instead rely on fast-food and processed foods for sustenance. We will address this concern by implementing the GreenWheel Mobile Market, a mobile farmers market truck that will improve access to fresh local food in Oahu's food deserts with an abundant selection of affordable, locally produced, healthy foods on a rotating weekly schedule of stops.
Join us in creating a vehicle for change! info@greenwheelfoodhub.org

GreenWheel Food Hub is a fiscally sponsored project of the Feed the Hunger Foundation, a 501 c 3. www.feed-hunger.com <http://www.feed-hunger.com/>

Whole Foods Market Partners with FTHF and its GreenWheel Food Hub project

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