Doing a Whole Lot of Good in Baltimore:
Whole Foods Market Raises More Than $5,500 for Samaritan Community
Katie Davison, Metro Marketing Team Leader at Whole Foods Market Baltimore and Peter Dunn, Director of Community Relations at Samaritan Community are all smiles at the grocer's Harbor East location.
(January 2016):
Once again, Whole Foods Market has proven its commitment to people in-need right here in Baltimore. This past holiday season, the Harbor East and Mt. Washington locations raised more than $5,500 for Samaritan Community, through the grocer’s “Feed4More” campaign. As the chosen charity again this year, we benefited from this annual drive that is designed to provide basic necessities to help people facing crisis in Baltimore rebuild their lives.
Whole Foods Market Mt. Washington promotes Samaritan Community as its "Feed4More" chosen charity.
“We love the opportunity that the “Feed4More” program provides us to impact our community. The Samaritan Community is an incredible partner because the offer such a wide-range of services to our friends and neighbors in need,” says Chad Woodmancy, Store Team Leader at Whole Foods Market Mt. Washington. “With all the great works Samaritan Community does, it was easy for our team members at both Baltimore locations to rally around their cause.”
In fact, to help reach the $5,500 mark, Samaritan Community staff, board members, and volunteers transformed into “Volunteer Baggers” at the grocer’s Mt. Washington location. They happily bagged groceries and talked to customers about how they can help at-risk families in our city.
“We are tremendously grateful to Whole Foods Market Baltimore,” says Peter Dunn, Director of Community Relations at Samaritan Community. “Because of the ‘Feed4More’ campaign, our members will have greater access to crisis intervention services such as food, individual and group counseling, and financial assistance with housing, utilities, medical bills, and more.”
The relationship between Whole Foods Market and Samaritan Community goes beyond the holiday season though. Throughout the year, the Mt. Washington store also donates fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, and groceries three days a week for our food pantry.
“The entire team there, from marketing and management, to the produce and bakery departments work to help stock our pantry throughout the year,” says Peter. “And it’s healthy food, which may not necessarily be something our clients would normally have easy access to. In fact, partly because of the fresh produce we regularly receive from Whole Foods Market, we have started a ‘Lunch Bunch’ program during which clients learn how to make healthy and delicious meals with the food typically available in our pantry and that are also low-cost.”
For more information on the services and programs Samaritan Community provides, please visit our Services page.