Whole Foods Market Foundation invested over $13M in 33 countries around the world supporting 1,272 organizations and schools to help advance healthy food access, nutrition and economic opportunities. Read on to learn more from our Executive Director about highlights from 2025 and what we’re looking forward to in 2026.

The Community First Grant program supports nonprofits focused on long-term fresh, healthy food access and nutrition education that are engaged with Whole Foods Market Team Members in the U.S. and Canada. This includes community gardens, mobile markets, healthy cooking classes and more. This year, we funding 90 organizations, totaling $898,837!

The Whole Foods Market Foundation is proud to announce another round of funding, just under 2 million dollars and reaching communities across three continents! These organizations are transforming food systems by empowering smallholder farmers and nourishing students through innovative, community-centered approaches. From Kenya to the United Kingdom to Guatemala, our partners are addressing critical gaps in childhood nutrition, food systems education, and agricultural resilience.

What a journey it's been! As Whole Foods Market Foundation celebrates our 20th anniversary, we're bursting with gratitude for two decades of transformative impact, all made possible by our incredible network of supporters.

We’re pleased to announce another month of funding, totaling $678,580 and impacting the lives of 17,606 people! From Canadian students in the classroom to smallholder farmers in Liberia, these partners are working to make community-led change possible. Read more about how each organization is using their funding to better the lives of students and farmers below.

We're thrilled to announce our October partnerships, representing a $1,350,000 investment in sustainable food systems across three countries! We’ve approved funding for three transformational organizations.

This year, the Foundation's High Impact Program is supporting our existing partners that are experiencing unexpected funding gaps. Through carefully selected partnerships with established organizations, this program ensures that vital community projects can continue without interruption.

It’s a big year for garden grants! Not only have we increased the value of our garden grant by $500—making each grant worth a total of $3,500— we’re also proud to award 950 schools with transformational funding. All together, that’s $3,325,000 in garden grants this year alone!

We’re halfway through the year and it’s our biggest month yet! We’re excited to approve just under 2 million dollars in funding to six transformative organizations working to support smallholder farmers in Rwanda, Indonesia, Peru, Cambodia, India, and Brazil! This month’s funding will impact over 10,000 people across the globe! Through our partnerships with these incredible organizations, we are supporting initiatives that give smallholders farmers the opportunity to thrive.

We're excited to announce that Amazon Fresh is continuing to support the Foundation’s Garden Grant Program for the second year in a row! Amazon Fresh will help fund an additional 48 gardens at schools, giving more kids the opportunity to learn about where their food comes from through hands-on experiences.

Earlier this year, over 36,000 Team Members across Whole Foods Market participated in the Foundation's annual Choice 4 Change (C4C) vote. Team Members used their voice to help the Foundation determine how to invest an additional $545,000 in food access programs. Now, we are happy to announce this year's Choice 4 Change partners who will help to increase the number of salad bars in schools, support smallholder farmers, and amplify the efforts of healthy nonprofit food retailers.

Every year, Whole Planet invites partners to participate in the Field Officer Appreciation Awards to honor their front line field staff who are working directly with entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers.

The Foundation is excited to announce another round of funding, totaling over $650,000 and reaching 6,294 people! Whether a long term partner like Chef Ann Foundation or two brand new partnerships like Kawadah Farms or Kumasi Drinks, these organizations are working to transform our food system by supporting both smallholder farmers and students around the world

We’re pleased to announce another month of funding, totaling $450,000 and touching the lives of 5,140 people! From Texas to Nigeria, both recipients—PEAS and ColdHubs— are making healthy food access more accessible. Read more about how each organization is using their funding to better the lives of Texans and Nigerians.

This year, the Foundation invested $375,000 to provide 150 schools and nonprofits with their beehives! 

We’re excited to approve just under $800,000 in funding to three transformative organizations working to support smallholder farmers in Bolivia, Liberia, and Tanzania.

In the nine years since we started teh Newark Fresh, Healthy Food Access Grant, we’ve awarded over $1.4 million to community-led organizations that are spearheading an increase to food accessibility across all five wards of Newark.

Low-income populations tend to have difficulty meeting the requirements of collateral or consistent income, leaving billions of people without access to basic financial services. Ventures like peer-to-peer lending and village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) are innovative solutions that address a critical gap in financial inclusion while creating sustainable pathways out of poverty to build financial resilience. 

Whole Foods Market Foundation is excited to announce our March 2025 funding!

Whole Foods Market Foundation invested $14M in 39 countries around the world supporting 1,239 organizations and schools to help advance healthy food access, nutrition and economic opportunities. Read on to learn more about the commitments from each project.