Whole Foods Gives Kids a Healthy Foundation

A former employee at Toronto's Whole Foods may think the place is a "faux hippy Wal-Mart," as he mentioned in his extremely nasty, mass-emailed, 2,000-word resignation letter to all of the store’s thousands of employees, but that’s not stopping the company from fostering its wholesome image and starting up a charitable organization.

The Associated Press reports that the organic grocer's newly established philanthropic arm, the Whole Kids Foundation, “aims to provide children with access to healthy foods.” The plan is to “work with schools, educators, and other organizations to help improve children's food choices,” the report adds.

With a mission to "support schools and inspire families to improve children's nutrition," the first project the foundation will engage in is to follow in the footsteps of First Lady Michelle Obama and support teaching gardens this fall, so that kids can get a better sense of the food they eat by taking part in the growing process.

In so doing, Whole Foods joins the vast array of brands such as Walmart and Walgreen's that are already helping the First Lady's campaign to fight childhood obesity by promoting nutrition and active lifestyles.

"We are excited to formalize our commitment to improving childhood nutrition and wellness through our new Foundation," stated Walter Robb, the company's co-CEO and chairman of the foundation. "By collaborating with schools and parents, we believe we can increase fruit and vegetable consumption both at schools and at home and make a significant contribution in the fight against childhood obesity."

Follow its progress on Facebook, Twitter and the Whole Foods blog.