Our Mission
Whole Planet Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization established by Whole Foods Market and dedicated to poverty alleviation. We aim to empower the world’s poorest people with microcredit in places where Whole Foods Market sources products.

WHO WE SUPPORT
WHERE WE WORK
Our History
OCTOBER 2005
Whole Foods Market® stores hold a nationwide 5% day to seed Whole Planet Foundation.
APRIL 2006
First Whole Planet Foundation-funded loan disbursed.
AUGUST 2008
First microloan disbursed in the United States.
JUNE 2010
The foundation hires full-time field staff to expand microlending projects to new countries.
SEPT 2021
To date, the foundation has authorized $105 million through microlending partners worldwide, funding 5.5 million microloans and 29 million opportunities for microentrepreneurs and their family members.
Whole Planet Foundation Team
Half of our team is based in Austin, Texas, the birthplace of Whole Foods Market. Some of our program team members live in Bangladesh, Kenya, Panama and the United Kingdom, travelling to visit our microfinance partners annually.
Our Board of Directors (USA)

John Mackey
Founder and Board Member Emeritus, Whole Planet FoundationJohn Mackey, co-founder and former CEO of Whole Foods Market, led the natural and organic grocer to a $15.7 billion Fortune 500 company with more than 530 stores and 100,000 team members in three countries. The company has been included on Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 20 consecutive years.
While devoting his career to helping shoppers satisfy their lifestyle needs with quality natural and organic foods, Mackey has also focused on building a more conscious way of doing business. He was the visionary for Whole Planet Foundation to help end poverty in developing nations, the Local Producer Loan Program to help local food producers expand their businesses, the Global Animal Partnership’s rating scale for humane farm animal treatment, and the Health Starts Here initiative to promote health and wellness.
Mackey has been recognized as one of Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year Overall Winner for the United States,” Institutional Investor’s “Best CEO in America,” Barron’s “World’s Best CEO,” MarketWatch’s “CEO of the Year,” Fortune’s “Businessperson of the Year,” and Esquire’s “Most Inspiring CEO.”
Advisory Committee
Bobby Covington
Denyse Forbes
Emily Krapausky
Roberta Lang
Jaimee Rondeau
Magatte Wade
Marci Frumkin
Vidar Jorgensen
2023 Community Engagement Committee
Interested in joining the committee? Reach out to our Director of Development and Outreach, Joy Stoddard, for more information.