Melrose Whole Foods loves NEW ARC!!

At long last! A GREAT BIG shout out and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! to Melrose Whole Foods!!  This newsletter from Emma Crowley at Whole Foods says it all....

Melrose visits NEW ARC!

(And hangs out with rescued raccoons!)

 In an effort to be as resourceful and ethical with our waste as possible, team members in Melrose have begun donating out-of-code product to some of the least picky eaters we know: wildlife! 

Lisa, our amazing Healthy Eating Specialist and full-time animal lover, suggested we partner with NEW ARC (North East Wildlife Animal Rescue Coalition) as she had worked with member Deanna in the past. One of the main goals of this organization is to provide humane and compassionate rehabilitation to injured and orphaned wildlife with the goal of returning them back to their natural habitat.

NEW ARC is completely non-profit and all expenses are out of pocket or from donations from the community.

In many cases, once a lossed food item is no longer suitable for the Food Bank it is still perfectly good to be enjoyed by animals like squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks and the like. We were able to gather cereal from grocery, nuts from bulk, and fruits/veggies from produce among other fare to provide these animals with a special meal (free from artificial colors, flavors, and hydrogenated oils! :P)

The shelters were completely equipped with hammocks, play areas, and room to explore the venue and enjoy being a raccoon! In total, Deanna estimated that at the time we visited she was fostering approximately 60 raccoons in her backyard.  That’s a lot of wild animals to feed!

It was an absolutely beautiful day and we even had a surprise visit from a local turkey! Deanna was extremely knowledgeable with a heart of gold and we were happy to help in way we could. We look forward to continuing our partnership with NEW ARC and can’t wait until we get to visit those adorable raccoons again!

If you’d like more information on NEW ARC feel free to check out their website here: http://new-arc.org/index.html

(do it!!! J)

Thank you to Lisa for being the leading voice in this effort, and to Carrie Muench and Cole Leighton for doing the appropriate research. Thank you to Karen Franczk for answering all of our questions and to Anthony (our photographer), Holly, and Erica for being a part of this journey. And of course a HUGE appreciation goes out to all the teams that donated goods and Store Leadership. THANK YOU!!

Emma Crowley

Demo Coordinator/Local Forager

Whole Foods Market

880 Main Street

Melrose, MA
Needless to say, we have SO MANY to thank for SO MUCH from our wonderful Melrose family at Whole Foods!! They have been such an incredible help, and instrumental in providing so much of the foods necessary to raise many of the orphaned species of wildlife we care for.  It's a win win for everyone! Food that would end up in the garbage now has a new purpose instead of being wasted, and we are able to provide our rehabs with a variety of nutritious and appropriate foods they need to grow and develop, without the added stress on our wallets. For, as you may not know, our hearts are always full, but our wallets are always empty!

So to our Whole Foods family in Melrose ...Thank you form the bottom of our furry little hearts....we can never thank you enough for all you are doing to help us!!!

It's always a special delivery when Whole Foods visits! :)

Who better to thank you than the very animals you are helping! As you can see, there is no lack of enthusiasm from the gang when it comes to devouring the latest bounty!

Many thanks to Lisa for kick starting this program!! Without you this would not be happening..... and Lisa and Elaine for donating even more....taking their own free time to load up and lug all this great stuff out to us every week!! Again, words cannot express my gratitude... and I love our visits when you come by!