Natural and Organic Supermarket Opens 11th South Florida Location on March 28th, 2012; Hosts Sneak-Preview Tours Benefiting “Children’s Harbor”

(Pembroke Pines, FL– March 5, 2010) – Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM), the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first national certified organic grocer, will open its doors in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Wednesday, March 28th at 9 a.m. The opening will follow a free continental breakfast in the parking lot from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., featuring entertainment from the Pembroke Pines Charter High School Marching Band and a Bread Breaking Ceremony, a Whole Foods Market twist on the traditional ribbon cutting, at 9 a.m. The rest of the day will be filled with entertainment and food samplings in every department. The Pembroke Pines location will be Whole Foods Markets’ 11th South Florida store and their 17th store in Florida.

To further celebrate the opening, Whole Foods Market will hold special Sneak Preview Tours complete with tastings and giveaways for the public on Monday, March 26th, 2012, from 12 p.m. – 8 p.m. Those wishing to attend can get more information, and sign up online at pembrokepines.wholefoodsrsvp.com beginning Wednesday, March 14th. Spaces on the tours are limited, so those wishing to attend must to pre-register online. The guided tours will take place approximately every 15 minutes with a suggested donation of $5 to benefit Children’s Harbor, a 501(c)(3) child welfare organization founded in 1996 in cooperation with the City of Pembroke Pines, which provides residential services for foster children in a family-style setting, and community based services for the prevention and intervention of abuse and neglect.

“We’ve been looking forward to the Pembroke Pines store opening and are thrilled to bring Whole Foods Market to the residents of Northwest Miami Dade and Southwest Broward Counties,” said Nick Ayoub, Store Team Leader of the new location. “Just in time for Easter and Passover, our number one goal will be to provide the community with the freshest, most flavorful, and highest quality products, while providing superior value in every department.”

In line with the company’s Core Values, shoppers can expect a more exciting yet educational experience as they shop the new store, when compared with traditional grocery stores.

Local Seafood and Sustainability

In September 2010, Whole Foods Market launched a color-coded sustainability rating system developed by the Blue Ocean Institute to show the sustainability status of all non-MSC-certified wild-caught seafood the stores sell. Ahead of the company’s self imposed deadline of Earth Day 2012, the Pembroke Pines store will open its doors having completely phased out all red-ranked species, deepening their commitment to having a fully sustainable seafood department.

Additionally, through strong relationships with day-boat fishermen around the state, the Seafood Department will feature the largest variety of locally caught seafood available, complete with the stories behind the people and fisheries we work with.

Animal Welfare

In addition to the old-fashioned butcher shop style where knowledge meets enthusiastic service, meat department Team Members will be eager to educate the community on the Global Animal Partnership’s (GAP) 5-Step Animal Welfare Ratings. The rating system provides clear information that helps shoppers make informed buying decisions and offers peace of mind to them that the meat and poultry in our fresh cases comes from animals raised with care. Shoppers can look for color-coded signs and stickers throughout the meat department or simply ask their butchers.

All of the beef, poultry and pork sold in the store’s fresh cases will meet the GAP criteria and be certified by independent third party auditors. This includes the first 5+ rated pork from Thompson Farms in Georgia

Healthy Eating Specialist

With its Health Starts Here program, Whole Foods Market is looking to revolutionize healthy eating by making it simple, approachable, affordable and accessible. The store will open with a full time Healthy Eating Specialist on the team to educate customers on making informed decisions about healthy foods, to teach cooking classes, give guided store tours and be a resource for the community. Most days, you’ll find her at the Healthy Eating Station in the produce department.

Local Growers and Producers

Furthering their commitment to local food production, the store will open its doors to local farms that have a Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and wish to use the store as a drop-point free of charge to both farm and consumer. This is in addition to the local producers and food artisans that will have their products featured in every department.

Additional store offerings will include;

Prepared Foods department highlighting

More than 100 items in their full service chef’s case, hot bar and prepared salad bars

In-House roasted deli meats

Grill Station featuring Step Rated Beef Burgers (see Animal Welfare above)

Grocery, dairy and frozen aisles featuring more than 50 locally produced items

An expansive produce department where more than 60% of the available fruits and vegetables will be grown Organically

A European style Bakery department featuring all of the items customers have come to expect in our stores, as well as Artisan breads from our Plantation bake house and a full line of locally baked Italian pastries, cookies and treats from Cosi Duci of Boca Raton

More than 400 beers, including a “Build Your Own 6-Pack” feature

Over 750 Wines hand selected by their resident sommelier

Over 200 artisanal cheeses from around the world, hand cut and wrapped daily in the store.

The store will be located in the Cobblestone Plaza at 14956 Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines, one quarter mile west of I-75. The store will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

About Whole Foods Market®

Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (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”™ 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 nearly 65,000 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 2010, the company had sales of more than $9 billion and currently has more than 317 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.