Liberty’s Kitchen at the ReFresh Project

As a part of Whole Foods Market’s commitment to the community and in celebration of the store’s opening, the Arabella Station, Veterans and Broad St. stores will host a series of 1% community giving days during the Broad St. location’s opening week. Guests can support getting more trees along Bayou St. John this Friday, February 7, 2014 by shopping at one of the New Orleans Whole Foods Market stores:

Friday, Feb. 7 – Restore the Bayou Canopy
Replacing southern live oak trees along Bayou St. John lost during hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for centuries.

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The extensive store renovation includes a physical on-site presence for several key organizations that include Firstline Schools, Liberty’s Kitchen, The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University and Broad Street Community Connections. Each tenant partner serves a unique function that helps to advance its individual mission, yet each entity shares a universal vision — that of perpetuating a healthy lifestyle through education, accessibility and affordability.

“The Broad Street neighborhood is coming back, and Whole Foods is thrilled to play a part of that revitalization. Along with our partners, we hope to affect healthy lifestyle changes through education and through our community outreach programs,” Whole Foods Community Relations representative Kristina Bradford said.

Some of the programs you’ll discover at Broad Street are regular healthy eating classes offered both at the store and remotely at various locations throughout the community. According to Bradford, there will also be support from the store to help consumers make healthy food choices while watching their budget.

During a recent guided tour of the 25,000-square-foot facility, there was attention to detail that seemed to reflect the Mid-City neighborhood and the people who live there. The store definitely communicates an old New Orleans-style grocery store vibe but with the type of merchandise its customers are accustomed to seeing on shelves.

What is different at Broad Street is an expanded local vendor relationship. For example, there’s locally roasted French Truck Coffee Chicory Blend on store shelves alongside the usual line of java. You’ll also discover freshly baked goods by a variety of local vendors that includes Breads on Oak, Gracious Bakery, Laurel Street Bakery and the traditional Leidenheimer French breads.

There’s even a gumbo bar that merges fresh, local ingredients with the talents and resources of Liberty’s Kitchen.

On a swing around the old Schwegmann’s Supermarket parking lot where the preview party was held, I chatted with several of the community partners that have been intimately involved with the project from its inception. Jeff Schwartz, executive director for Broad Community Connections, was one of the key visionaries that helped to obtain a Main Street designation for ReFresh.

“This is beyond our wildest dreams,” Schwartz said. “Everyone deserves a healthy quality of life. It’s both our right and our responsibility to the residents of this neighborhood.

“It’s these old New Orleans neighborhoods that are the backbone of our culture.”

Virtually every key partner with whom I spoke at the preview party echoed that same mantra.

“This project provides the opportunity for profound social impact,” said Liberty’s Kitchen Program Director Dennis Bagneris. “We want to see this project replicated in other areas.”

Whole Foods Broad Street and all of its nonprofit community partners are demonstrating a steadfast commitment to improving the quality of life for all residents. This revitalization effort should serve as a prototype for what neighborhoods throughout the country can aspire to.

For an overview of the ReFresh project, visit www.broadcommunityconnections.org.

For details and more information on Whole Foods Broad Street, contact Kristina Bradford at [email protected]

Click on the coupon to print it.

Click on the coupon to print it.

Mid-City New Orleans welcomes a new Whole Foods Market(r) store
Broad Street store anchors the ReFresh project with Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, Liberty’s Kitchen, Broad Community Connections, and FirstLine Schools

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Whole Foods Market Broad St. store will open at the corner of Broad and Bienville streets after an 8:15 a.m. bread breaking ceremony featuring a garden grant and new foundation announcements. The 25,000-square-foot store will open its doors offering a full range of high-quality natural and organic foods including a vast assortment of more than 330 locally-sourced offerings from some of Louisiana’s most highly-regarded community producers, more than 100 organic produce items, and hundreds of products exclusive to Whole Foods Market.
The first 500 shoppers at the store will receive the new line of New Orleans reusable bags with Whole Foods Market product samples. Shoppers can also enjoy special store opening sales and music, as well as tips and tours with the Whole Foods Market healthy eating educators.
As a part of Whole Foods Market’s commitment to the community and in celebration of the store’s opening, the Arabella Station, Veterans and Broad St. stores will host a series of 1% community giving days during the Broad St. location’s opening week. Guests can support a different local non-profit each day simply by shopping at one of the New Orleans Whole Foods Market stores:

Tuesday, Feb. 4 – Providence Community Housing<http://www.providencecommunityhousing.org/>

Fosters healthy, diverse and vibrant communities by developing, operating and advocating for affordable, mixed-income housing, supportive services and employment opportunities for individuals, families, seniors and people with special needs.

Wednesday, Feb. 5 – Edgar “Dooky” Jr. & Leah Chase Family Foundation<http://www.dookychasefoundation.org/>

Seeks to cultivate and support historically disenfranchised organizations by making significant contributions to education, creative and culinary arts, and social justice.

Thursday, Feb. 6 – Youth Run NOLA<http://www.yrnola.org/>

Empowers underserved youth through running, with an eight-month guided training program that emphasizes the long-term significance of empowerment, physical activity and mental resiliency in youth.

Friday, Feb. 7 – Restore the Bayou Canopy<http://www.mothershipfoundation.wordpress.com/>

Replacing southern live oak trees along Bayou St. John lost during hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for centuries.

Saturday, Feb. 8 – The Roots of Music<http://www.therootsofmusic.org/>

Provides free, year-round music education to kids ages 9-14, with a mission to teach, support and empower the youth of New Orleans while preserving and promoting the city’s unique musical and cultural heritage.
In keeping with Whole Foods Market tradition, the Broad St. store is customized for the surrounding community and features local cultural flair and repurposed materials, and these special attributes:

*       Healthy eating classes and events onsite and in the community

*       Repurposed pallet wood used on columns and throughout the store

*       Salvaged “Peace” building graffiti panels installed in store

*       Electric vehicle charging stations and bike fix-it station

*       Two healthy eating educators on-site to answer questions, craft recipes, and host tours

*       NOLA-specific reusable better bag

*       Local French Truck Coffee at the coffee bar

*       More than 330 local products including more than 115 items in the bakery, 82 items in the Whole Body department, and 80 products in the grocery aisles

*       Original terrazzo floor featured throughout the store

*       Original grocery store letters from a previous tenant used in the “NOLA pride” accent above the entrance

*       Art-o-mat to feature “art to go” with local art available

Once the building construction is complete, the community will be able to experience the full potential of the ReFresh project with tenant partners Liberty’s Kitchen, Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, Broad Community Connections, and FirstLine Schools, in addition to other collaborators around healthy eating and food access initiatives, including budget-friendly meal planning, store tours, health screenings and more.

For more information about the Whole Foods Market Broad St. store, visit:   wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/broadstreet
Whole Foods Market Broad St.
300 N. Broad St., Suite 103
New Orleans, LA 70119
Store Hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily
Phone: (504) 434-3364

Find us online:

Louisiana Suppliers: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Facebook: Whole Foods Market New Orleans
Twitter: wfm_louisiana
Instagram – wholefoods_louisiana
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About Whole Foods Market(r)
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com<http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com>, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” by Health magazine. The company’s motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”(tm) captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company’s more than 78,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 15 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2013, the company had sales of $12.9 billion and currently has more than 360 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

For store updates, community and event news, and new product information, follow us on Twitter @wfm_louisiana<http://twitter.com/WFM_Louisiana>, Facebook www.facebook.com/wholefoodsnola<http://www.facebook.com/wholefoodsnola> and www.facebook.com/wholefoodsbr<http://www.facebook.com/wholefoodsbr>, and Instagram @wholefoods_louisiana.

The ReFresh Project is an adaptive reuse of the former Schwegmann’s supermarket building at Broad and Bienville.

The project that will include a new Whole Foods Market, Liberty’s Kitchen full service café and commercial kitchen, and The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. The fresh food access development has the dual purpose of anchoring economic development in the Broad Street commercial corridor and delivering much-needed, high-quality fresh foods and health-related programs to underserved communities along Broad Street. The development will also include office and community space, including the central office for FirstLine Schools and the offices of Broad Community Connections.

Heard about the new ReFresh Project on Broad Street but curious about why it’s so fresh?

Did you know that the ReFresh Project is more than a new Whole Foods Market?

The Whole Foods Market Broad St. store will open Tuesday, Feb. 4

with coffee and refreshments at 7:45 a.m., opening ceremonies at 8:15 a.m. and doors opening at 9 a.m. The community will have the opportunity to attend a Preview Party Saturday, Feb. 1 from 12 to 3 p.m. with a sneak peek of the 25,000-square-foot store, ReFresh partners, samples from local and national suppliers, Whole Foods Market healthy eating educators, and more. The events are free and open to the community.

The Whole Foods Market Broad St. store anchors the ReFresh Project, a 60,000-square-foot development that aims to stimulate growth in New Orleans’ Broad Street commercial corridor and to improve access to fresh, high-quality food and health-related programs in the community. More details, tenant profiles, and video are available in the online press kit at www.bit.ly/wholefoodsbroadst.

Whole Foods Market(r) Broad Street to Donate Percentage
of First Five Days’ Sales to Local New Orleans Non-Profits
Arabella Station and Veterans stores to participate

For an opening week celebration that begins Feb. 4, the Whole Foods Market Broad St. store will donate one percent of the first five day’s net sales to non-profits whose missions serve children, seniors, personal and workforce development, empowerment, arts, social justice, beautification/environment, music, and culture. The Arabella Station and Veterans locations will also participate and donate their net sales.

As part of the company’s core values to support its local communities, the stores donate five percent of net sales once a quarter. With the new Broad St. store opening, the New Orleans locations have combined efforts to support five local organizations over the first five days that the Broad St. store is open to foster even more giving. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, Feb. 4
Providence Community Housing
Providence Community  Housing fosters healthy, diverse and vibrant communities by developing, operating and advocating for affordable, mixed-income housing, supportive services and employment opportunities for individuals, families, seniors and people with special needs. www.providencecommunityhousing.org.                         

Wednesday, Feb. 5
Edgar “Dooky” Jr. & Leah Chase Family Foundation
The Dooky and Leah Chase Family Foundation seeks to cultivate and support historically disenfranchised organizations by making significant contributions to education, creative and culinary arts, and social justice. www.dookychasefoundation.org

Thursday, Feb. 6
Youth Run NOLA
Youth Run NOLA empowers underserved youth through running, with an eight-month guided training program overseen by volunteer teacher-coaches and running buddies. They recognize the long-term significance of empowerment, physical activity and mental resiliency in youth and aim to teach the community that runners are made, not born, and that running is a lifestyle, not just a sport. www.yrnola.org

Friday, Feb. 7
Restore the Bayou Canopy
MotherShip Foundation’s Restore the Bayou Canopy campaign is a project that is replacing southern live oak trees along Bayou St. John lost during hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for centuries.