Health & Fitness
Charity Is in the Bag at Los Gatos Whole Foods
Whole Foods Market in Los Gatos has found a way to help shoppers donate to local organizations. See how they do it and find out how you can join this effort.
There is a really good reason to bring your reusable bags to the in Los Gatos, and it’s not just about saving the environment.
Whole Foods has a program called Nickels for Nonprofits. It is a community-giving program featuring a selected local nonprofit for a period of three months. Every time a customer reuses a shopping bag, the Los Gatos Whole Foods will donate a nickel, per bag, to a specifically chosen nonprofit.
At the end of your transaction, the cashier will ask if you if want to donate or deduct. Most of us donate, but unless you read the tiny sign at the checkout counter, it can be a giant mystery as to where your 5-cent donation ends up. Bringing your own bags makes donating easy, but remembering to put those bags in your trunk before you go shopping can be a struggle—even for the brightest.
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This quarter your nickels are going to , a fabulous nonprofit, . EMQ Families, a family services crisis foundation, was the featured Nickels for Nonprofits recipient last quarter and your reusable bags raised $2,077 for that foundation. Last year, Our City Forests raised $4,238 and School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County raised $780 through just one week in the program. The Los Gatos Whole Foods Nickels for Nonprofits is genuinely doing our community a great service.
And donations keep flying off the shelves. Through the Whole Foods 5% Program, this Thursday, Dec. 8, Whole Foods of Los Gatos will give 5 percent of all net sales to West Valley Community Services. Hop on in because it only lasts one day.
Find out what's happening in Los Gatoswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Other recipients of the 5% Program are American Assistance for Cambodia, bringing in 1,736 customers and the , reeling in a mighty 3,422 customers in one day. I am only guessing that the average price of a bag of groceries at Whole Foods would cost at least $25. If 3,422 people bought more than one bag of food that day, the total donation to the Los Gatos Education Foundation was probably off the charts.
To quote Heather Meadows, marketing team leader for the Los Gatos Whole Foods, “It is not about the money; it is about the exposure.” With Nickels for Nonprofits and the 5% program, local charities receive visibility and donations in this one-stop-shop.
How great is it that local merchants are providing opportunities for the community to make donations to help those in need. Think about that the next time you are salivating for one of Whole Foods delicious rotisserie chickens or just want to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner. Choosing where you shop will make a difference in our community.
