A Reason to Shop Whole Foods Today

At least the Whole Foods stores in Cambridge. Today, Tuesday, January 9 the Whole Foods Markets in the three Cambridge locations will be donating 5% of their sales to Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund. Whole Foods runs these five percent giving days (they call them CommUnity Giving Days) to benefit local charities from time to time, but it's great when the benefit helps to even the playing field a little bit. Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (CHAF) provides housing assistance and counseling to help break the cycle of homelessness. Anyone who's got an apartment in the Boston area knows that first and last months rent and a security deposit can add up quick, leaving little (if anything) left to go into subsequent months. CHAF reports that over 95% of the families they've assisted are out of shelters and have been in their homes after a year. Tomorrow, January 10 the Boston locations of Whole Foods will be donating 5% of sales to Pathways to Wellness "a non-profit organization located in the South End Community Health Center and committed to providing equal access to high quality holistic care including acupuncture, shiatsu and Chinese herbs."

Yeah, we know Whole Foods will cost you a bit more for most of the things you buy. It's generally the more affluent residents that shop there – so we're looking at this like a little Robin Hood action. Though we've been beaten down by Whole Foods in the past, lately we've had a good run with their prices on bagged salads, Tofu, and Peanut Butter and a lot of things under Whole Foods' 365 brand. Especially their 365 branded wine - you can get at the 340 River St. location just off Mem Drive. They've just introduced what we like to call the two-buck chuck killer: a 365 brand wine for only $3.65 (and it'll likely meet the same success as many of the iPod killers). Buy a case today and $2.19 will go to CHAF.