Whole Foods Market won’t have an Island store until the fall of 2016, but the natural and organic grocery giant is already in business here.
A day after the Texas-based grocer announced it would open a store in a new building at Uptown shopping centre, Whole Foods handed a $58,000 cheque to Royston-based Tree Island Gourmet Yogurt. The money, a low-interest loan to help the company expand its production facilities, is part of Whole Foods’ $25-million Local Producer Loan Program.
“The whole idea of the program is it’s a win for the producer and a win for Whole Foods,” said Denise Breyley, the company’s “forager” in the Pacific Northwest, who seeks producers and vendors who align with the grocer’s goals. “We review loan requests on a project-by-project basis and interest rates and term are tailored for each project,” she said.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Times Colonist
