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Being fat will cost you if you work at Whole Foods.
In an effort to trim its health insurance costs and promote healthy living for its work force, Whole Foods is offering employees who have lower body mass indexes, cholesterol and blood pressure and who refrain from smoking greater discounts on its products, the New York Daily News reported.
"The program is designed to provide tools and incentives to encourage healthier lifestyles, and it is completely voluntary," Whole Foods spokeswoman Libba Letton told Slashfood.
"It directly supports two of our company's core value: supporting team member happiness and excellence and the second one is promoting the health of our stakeholders through healthy eating education," Letton said.
Employees with the best health indicators will get 30 percent discounts as "platinum" level members of the company's "Team Member Healthy Discount Incentive" program. Gold tier members get 27 percent off, silver get 25 percent and bronze members get 22 percent discounts. All employees receive 20 percent discounts.
Some, however, have criticized the program, saying it discriminates against the overweight, the paper reported.
"Why are you rewarding people who are naturally thin? We believe it's discrimination," Peggy Howell, a spokeswoman for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, told the Daily News. "We are encouraging our membership and anyone else who agrees with us to shop elsewhere."
Letton, however, told Slashfood that Whole Foods doesn't see it that way.
"Obviously we don't think it discriminates against anyone. It's a program that's open to everyone but certainly nobody is required to participate. I work right here with people who are deciding not to do it and people who are deciding to do it," she said. "Most of the people I've talked to are excited about it."
In addition to its program for employees, last week Whole Foods announced a program to help customers eat healthy through in-store classes and partnership with nutrition programs.
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1-29-2010 @8:35PM k said... Just because people are thin, does NOT mean that they are healthy. This program is for those who are taking care of themselves, which i think is great. Just because someone has a low BMI does not automatically mean that that person will have low cholesterol or low blood pressure. Being "naturally thin" is not the same as being healthy. There is a large difference that I wish a lot more people understand.
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1-29-2010 @8:47PM Sean said... For the most part it whether I agree with this program or not; Whole Foods isn't penalizing people for their BMI. It's not like if you are 5'5" 300lbs you lose your discount, but if you 6'1" 190lbs you get 50% a discount on all of their products or services. Does your employer do that for you? As an ex-employee of Whole Foods Market, (who still shops there) I think anyone who does not/has not worked, shopped or really looked into Whole Foods in the big picture of a company really as nothing to say.
I see posters calling WFM, Whole Paycheck, that would be true if you just went in and bought the first thing of every product you wanted. Truth of the matter is if you know how to shop you can come out of there as well or better than most other chains. Yes they do offer a range of product, wider than other chains. You can go broke shopping there if you go for the highest quality Olive Oil that might be $65 for 16oz, (and there is a reason that those products cost so much, ask any chef worth their salt) and over look the gallon of 365 Olive Oil for $17. Anyone who has been in management (and most employees) for WFM knows that for comparable brands WFM actually is around the same cost or lower on most items. All Team Leaders at WFM do Comp-Shopping to keep things competitive, whereas most other companies if they do it at all hire an outside company to do this. There are also higher costs on some produce, meats and seafood, but not that much depending on the product. The reasoning for this is quality. Where King Soopers might have asparagus 10lbs for $10 on special and WFM will have it for $5.99lbs, look at the quality difference. Most likely the cheap stuff from KS is probably skinny stringy and not in the best shape, and the WFM asparagus in firm round large. This is because WFM employees take pride in getting you the best they can, whereas most other store just take whatever they get and hope you don’t notice.
Second they are the only store of its type that really offers much of a discount to its employees (20% off of everything, not just certain items that are company specific) unlike companies like Kroger which only give a very minor discount to employees and not at all on meats, vegetables etc... This I know from working for other companies more recently. So if they are offering another incentive to live better and get a better discount in doing so more power to them and the employees who decide to join in the program.
Third how many companies offer any kind of program that tries to inspire healthy living? This program may not be perfect but it is also not mandatory. The part that people (including the author of this article) seem to be missing is that Whole Foods Market also offers multiple forms of education about everything from eating right to being more eco-friendly to Spanish/English language for their staff at no cost. Thus adding to the skills and knowledge base of it employees. Every heard of Wal-mart or Safeway doing that?
Fourth and my final point will address the poster calling their CEO a douche. First how many CEO's do you know about that limit what they can make each year, and give themselves pay cuts to increase the all around profit margin for employees and share holders. I cannot even think of a single one, hell our own politicians won't even do that so we can cut the deficit or keep necessary programs like transportation. Next Whole Foods is also the only company that I have ever worked for that composts/recycles 75-90% of their waste and turns it around into profit for the company and cut costs. Whole Foods operates at a positive profit margin because of measures like this and not a 1% profit margin like all the other big chains do that offer nothing to their employees. As a matter of fact after working for other companies in the same industry, I have noticed how many of WFM competitors work at keeping their employees in the dark about everything and beat them down for excelling and trying to help improve the company and themselves. Now this is what we all should be outraged about, not some company that is trying to help their employees and their community.
So I would just like to say before you judge this idea and company take a look at the big picture and compare it to where you are shopping and what they do for their employees. You might end up ashamed that you support where you buy your food from and the parent company behind it.
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1-29-2010 @9:23PM denise said... imagine how the overweight people in your company feel? how sad. some people have medical conditions that prevent them from losing weight. maybe you should consider educating and supporting people rather then singling them out. no matter what you think about the 'good reasons' why you do this, think about how it makes people feel. shame on you!
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1-29-2010 @11:42PM Samone said... Denise if read former WFM employee Sean's entire comment you would also have seen where he said
"Whole Foods Market also offers multiple forms of education about everything from eating right to being more eco-friendly to Spanish/English language for their staff at no cost."
So they are educating their employee's, and for free if you notice. People like you make me worry not only for the obesity rate in America but also for the illiteracy rate in America.
1-30-2010 @4:56PM Lisa said... Even when I was 18 years old, had a low BMI, and was a strict vegetarian, I had high cholesterol. It just runs in my family. I don't think Whole Foods is fair.
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1-30-2010 @5:47AM Laurie said... I wish I had a store like this available to me, since I'm trying to eat healthier. As for the discounts, it's a nice gesture and is one more factor which might prompt people to try foods they wouldn't normally splurge on.
For cholesterol: yes, it's an indicator, but just that. If you read on the web, researchers are finding that homocysteine levels are more of an indicator for heart health, but don't have a cheap way to test people. Someday I'll bet that will improve.
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1-29-2010 @10:15PM am said... Are you serious people? It has NOTHING to do with discrimination and unless you actually work there and qualify for the discount, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU.
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2-10-2010 @10:37AM Marie said... well I don't shop there because of the commercials. The dingy blonde is awful!
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1-29-2010 @10:53PM Keyingatmach5 said... Anyway you slice it is a form of racism a form of discrimination masked to look like it isn't. If we start to point the finger at different people who may not look or be like a movie star, we are picking out a certain kind of person. Not all of us are built the same. Tall, short, fat, skinny, handicap with pimples, with freckles, pretty and ugly. When we start to blame one type, yes it is a form of racism. I for one am tired of people pointing the finger towards the heavy set. Everyone has something, drugs, drinking, depression. Next they will offer something for that. You have to watch how that insentive is given. In this case you have a store called Whole Foods, the CEO is pretty much telling you in so many terms, if you come to work here, don't be fat, or will give you this program. Not good in my book, why should they not get the same as other employees. Lets say it went down to vacation days, you my dear friend would be mad, if skinny was getting a month off and you a week. Yes in every way this is a form of discrimination, but it is done very discreetly so the employee won't be offended. You say no it isn't, but if you were in that person shoes, you would be.
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2-02-2010 @11:59PM jrogel said... I actually work for Whole Foods and am excited for this opportunity. Whole Foods paid for the screenings costing them $8,000 for just our location. Employees who would test positive for nicotine still did the screening just to know their numbers. It was great. Many employees didn't qualify for the "platinum" level not because of weight, but because of blood pressure or cholesterol, myself included. I was platinum for weight and cholesterol, but was knocked down to silver because of blood pressure. I have always had great BP, so this number was a surprise. I benefit from the testing because now I know what I need to work on to be healthier.
Did anyone mention that we can retake the test in 6 months? Maybe some of the employees will imrpove thier health and improve thier discount.
Only an irresponsible "journalist" would start of with "Being fat will cost you if you work at Whole Foods."
This is one of the greatest companies to work for. Time and time again they amaze me with their natural, compassionate concern for the employees. Before you criticize, try working there. it just may change your narrowminded tune.......
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1-29-2010 @10:48PM Donna said... Research has shown that people that are 10% underweight have more health risks than those that are 10% overweight. Whole foods needs to penalize the underweight as well, if they are to consider themselves not guilty of discrimination!
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1-29-2010 @11:43PM Samone said... Donna, please read the whole article before you comment , the under weight would obviously be penalized also because it is based on your BMI. People who are under weight also qualify as unhealthy on a BMI chart. So it is not discrimination! This program is not about being FAT its about being HEALTHY, no matter what your size, as they also look at blood pressure and cholesterol, underweight people would also have a blood pressure that is lower than healthy.
1-29-2010 @11:41PM Gabriel said... The thing about this article that annoys me is that Whole Foods CAN offer discounts of 20% to 30% to anybody. Typical margins in the supermarket industry are less than 5%. WF must be way overcharging the rest of us.
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1-30-2010 @11:46PM Daniel F. said... I apologize for misquoting the stats, but I think the point stands.
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