Brooklyn Whole Foods Stores Will Donate 5% of Profits To Emma’s Torch on Thursday

GOWANUS/WILLIAMSBURG – Try to hold off this week’s grocery shopping until Thursday if you can, as Whole Foods Market will donate 5% of net sales at its Gowanus and Williamsburg locations on that day to Emma’s Torch, the non-profit Red Hook café that provides culinary training and job placement assistance to refugees and survivors of human trafficking.

“We are honored to work with Whole Foods Market to use food to drive change in our community,” said Kerry Brodie, Executive Director of Emma’s Torch. “With each dollar spent on January 11th, shoppers at Whole Foods Market have the opportunity to change lives.”

The Emma’s Torch team will also set up tables at the two Brooklyn Whole Foods stores on Thursday to talk to customers about the “importance of welcoming refugees, and the incredible and positive impact that refugees have had on our culture and society throughout history,” Brodie told BKLYNER.

“We will also be sharing ways that people in the community can get involved with our work. We hope that the people we meet will be excited about volunteering with us, meeting our wonderful students, and dining in our new space in the future,” she added. “We are excited to share with them the ways that they can use their purchasing power to promote change.”

Launched in June 2017, Emma’s Torch just completed a successful six-month pop-up in Red Hook, where it trained students and served brunch in the Home/Made space located at 293 Van Brunt Street. A new, permanent Emma’s Torch location will be coming soon to Downtown Brooklyn.

“We are working towards opening our new permanent location in Brooklyn and were looking into companies that share our vision—using foods to promote social change,” Brodie said, explaining her café’s partnership with Whole Foods. After learning about Whole Foods Market’s “approach to donating proceeds and partnering with local organizations” Emma’s Torch reached out to the company.

“We are excited about this partnership given our shared values and commitment to bettering the world through food, and hope to continue collaborating with Whole Foods Market in the months ahead,” Brodie said.

Whole Foods Market has held several 5% Days to help various community organizations. “We are thrilled to partner with Emma’s Torch to improve the lives of Brooklyn’s newest members,” Brendan Zanetti, Marketing Team Leader for Whole Foods Market, said in a release announcing the partnership.