"whole foods" news and stories

Normally I'm not a big fan of supporting big-box stores for wine purchases, but Whole Foods Market is an exception. Their selection is well-edited and personally sourced, with some of the wines purchased from boutique wineries that lack the marketing budgets to reach major American importers.

Did you know that the Austin, Texas-based chain employs two wine buyers -- Doug Bell and Geof Ryan -- who are out in the vineyards more than they are at their desks? Their entire job is to source wines that are a.) inexpensive and b.) high quality. What's not to like?

I recently had a chance to sip a selection of wines from Bordeaux, France, that this duo sourced. All cost under $20 a bottle, which is a steal given that many people find Bordeaux wines to be priced out of their range.

Here are my five bargain favorites -- available only at Whole Foods Market -- from this storied wine region.

Starting April 1, you can catch Juno's Ellen Page trading in her Hard Candy routine to narrate Vanishing of the Bees. No, it's not a sequel to horror flick Black Swarm; it's an intriguing documentary about the disappearance of the insects that pollinate most of our crops. And it's one of six films collected and being shown as part of the Whole Foods Do Something Reel Film Festival, presented in 70 cities across the country to celebrate Earth Month. (Did we even know that April was Earth Month, in addition to Earth Day, on the 22nd?)

"Through our [ ...] Do Something Reel Film Festival we want to raise awareness of environmental and food issues, and support filmmakers who are creating films that inspire people to question the impact our choices have on our health, body and environment," said Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, in a company press release. Ticket proceeds from the fest are going towards a grant program for filmmakers who want to go green in their art.

Among the "Do Something" films is Mark MacInnis's Urban Roots, a close-up of Motor City residents trying to grow it for themselves in the concrete jungle. Suzan Beraza's Bag It! follows an anti-plastics crusader, and Shelley Lee Davis and Or Shlomi's PLANEAT takes a hard look at our love affair with meat and dairy, through the eyes of scientists, farmers, and chefs.

See what's playing and where to catch the Do Something Reel Film Festival.


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March 14 is National Pi Day, a holiday officially recognized by the U.S. government since 2009. The Greek letter "pi" is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter (You might remember it as the never-ending series of numbers you learned in school that start with 3.14....). To celebrate, many restaurants and stores are rolling out specials on pie.

Here are the ones we've rounded up:

Whole Foods Markets' Midwestern stores are participating in a promotion by selling an entire fresh-baked apple, blueberry and cherry pie for $3.14. Each store is offering its own take on the promotion, in addition to the $3.14 pies. At the Milwaukee store, for example, Whole Foods Market will also retail two slices of pizza pie for the sum of $3.14.

Whole Foods is no stranger to veggies – even the frozen kind, and it's no stranger to healthy food. And for folks who can't quite get the two of them in synch, the natural-food grocery giant is now doing the thinking for you -- this week officially launching a new line of eight frozen vegetable blends designed to pack specific nutritional punches.

Beans and Greens, for instance, is a high-fiber-and-iron blend of kidney beans, great northern beans and kale. Leafy Greens is a high vitamin A mixture of collards, kale and mustard greens. Garden Blend hits vitamins A and C with carrots, broccoli and sugar snap peas. It also includes single veggie packages of collard greens and blue curled kale – two of the most nutrient-dense vegetables around.

"There was definitely a plan to make sure we were hitting nutrient density and creating a product that was more than just a bag of frozen vegetables," said Chris Slick, Whole Foods' Senior Global Coordinator for Exclusive and Store Brands.

There's trouble in Candyland. Whole Foods and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have announced a recall of gingerbread houses produced by Rolf's Patisserie and sold in Whole Foods stores. The reason? There's a possible connection to outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus food poisoning, according to this F.D.A. press release. It says that the assembled gingerbread houses are decorated and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label; some scale labels also may list "Rolf's Patisserie" as part of the description.

The recall affects all gingerbread houses sold after November 1, 2010, in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

The FDA adds that customers who have purchased any of the listed products from Whole Foods Market may return them to the store for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Whole Foods Market at 512-542-0878 weekdays between 8:00am and 5:00pm Central Standard Time.