PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — Whole Foods Market is not just a champion of the current ‘health revolution’ – it’s also on the forefront of eradicating global poverty. The Whole Planet Foundation is an organization established by Whole Foods that seeks to alleviate poverty by providing microloans to communities around the world that in turn, supply Whole Foods stores with locally harvested products.
The organization’s mission seems to echo the purpose of Whole Foods Market in its entirety: to make sustainable and local produce accessible on a large scale. This means getting to the source, which often begins with a remote, developing agricultural community. And Whole Planet Foundation does just that – the nonprofit seeks to give back to those who have helped them succeed, while also focusing on the persistent problem of global poverty and hunger.
Once a year, Whole Foods Market stores participate in a campaign to raise money for the Whole Planet Foundation. Whole Foods covers 100 percent of the Foundation’s operating costs, which allows for 100 percent of the donations to benefit entrepreneurs of the developing world where Whole Foods Market sources products directly.
The donations are utilized to provide grants to microfinance institutions in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East. These nations then develop and offer microenterprise loan programs, training and other financial services to the self-employed poor, helping them to eventually establish themselves as competitive entrepreneurs.
Last year alone, the Annual Campaign helped to raise over $6.2 million. Currently, the Foundation provides microloans to over 764,937 female entrepreneurs in 60 different countries around the world.
Eng is one of the females being directly affected by the Whole Planet Foundation. As a tailor living in Cambodia, a region where Whole Foods Market sources handicrafts, Eng along with 6,042 microentrepreneurs received microfinance loans with Chamroeun Microfinance Ltd, a partner of the Whole Planet Foundation.
Before receiving a loan, Eng was mainly repairing and altering already made items because she could not afford to purchase her own material. Now she is able to buy material to produce her own clothing – she has even started a seasonal fashion line.
One of the Foundation’s co-founders, Phillip Sansome, sees the value and potency of microcredit. He sees it as proof that it does not take thousands and thousands of dollars to make substantial change in someone’s life. In fact, recipients of the Foundation receive $30 and $300 to begin their businesses and are offered loans anywhere between $500 and $3000.
It can often be the little things that make a big difference. By providing microloans to developing nations, the Whole Planet Foundation is stirring the pot for hundreds of talented entrepreneurs. They are laying the foundation for a bright future.
– Samantha Scheetz
Sources: Whole Planet Foundation, Duke Chronicle, Huffington Post
Photo: Orlando Weekly