WHOLE FOODS MARKET® PREPARES TO OPEN ITS DOORS IN FAIRFIELD, CT ON JUNE 3

Wholesome Wave selected as opening day charitable partner; Founder and Celebrity Chef Michel Nischan Joins Opening Day Festivities, Offering Cooking Demonstrations and Book Signings

(Fairfield, CT– May 12, 2011) – Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFM), the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first nationally certified organic grocer, will open the doors to its Fairfield, Conn. store on Friday, June 3, 2011 at 8:30 am. Located at 350 Grasmere Avenue, this will be the grocer’s 8^th store in Connecticut. To celebrate opening day, Whole Foods Market will offer storewide tastings, vendor sampling, special sale items, cooking demonstrations, gift bags and more.

Five percent of the total sales for June 3 will be donated to Wholesome Wave, a local non-profit organization whose mission is to nourish neighborhoods across the U.S. through creating access to healthy, fresh, affordable locally-grown food to underinvested communities and working on agriculture and food policy change. Wholesome Wave‘s founder and CEO, Chef Michel Nischan of Fairfield, Conn., will lead cooking demos in the store’s Cooking Fairfield department throughout the day. The chef will sign copies of his latest book, Sustainably Delicious, which includes recipes from and inspired by his restaurant, Dressing Room, in nearby Westport, Conn.

“Whole Foods Market is the perfect partner for Wholesome Wave as we continue our journey towards bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to every American’s kitchen table,” said Nischan. “What we are doing in farmer’s markets across the U.S., Whole Foods Market is doing in their stores: bringing fresh, local, organic and affordable foods to shoppers every day. The 5 percent donation from Whole Foods Market will further our shared mission of feeding families healthful food.”

The new, 45,000-square-foot store will offer a variety of locally sourced foods and showcase venues and products consistent with the Whole Foods Market promise of offering the highest-quality natural and organic products, while addressing the needs of the Fairfield community. Whole Foods Market Fairfield will be the first store in the area to feature an in-store Cooking department.

The Cooking Fairfield program and in-store department combines designated workspaces, cookbooks, cooking tools, demonstrations, and themed, seasonal menus to engage, inspire and educate shoppers about the joy of cooking. The Cooking area features butcher block workspace, and on-site tablet kiosks with specially developed content, recipes and information compiled in partnership with the online social media food hub, Food52, started by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs. The website featured in-store at Cooking Fairfield, will also launch for shoppers home use on June 3. The department also features the Cooking Coach— a Whole Foods Market team member with in-depth culinary knowledge — available to help shoppers bring the passion back into cooking seasonal meals at home.

“We’re so proud to be opening our doors in Fairfield in a way that helps to bring the community together to support a great cause like Wholesome Wave,” said Christina Minardi, Whole Foods Market’s northeast Regional President. “In addition to providing the wide selection of delicious, all-natural, organic foods our shoppers have come to expect from Whole Foods Market, we’re thrilled to be the first in the area to introduce our Cooking Fairfield department, which will inspire shoppers to cook seasonal foods in their own kitchens.”

Also featured at Whole Foods Market Fairfield is a Healthy Eating Center, a part of Whole Foods Market’s companywide Health Starts Here™ program.  The Center will include a healthy eating specialist who will host a variety of classes, demos and educational program to help shoppers make healthier eating choices.

On June 3, the community is invited to join in the bread-breaking opening day ceremony and all the day’s festivities. Additional updates and information is available now by following @WFMFairfield on Twitter or liking Whole Foods Market Fairfield on Facebook.

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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 60,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 14 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2010, the company had sales of more than $9 billion and currently has more than 300 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

About Wholesome Wave

The mission of the Wholesome Wave (www.wholesomewave.org) is to nourish neighborhoods by supporting increased production and access to healthy, fresh, and affordable locally grown food for the well-being of all. Wholesome Wave Foundation achieves success through partnership-based programs that serve food deserts of historically excluded urban and rural communities. By creating connections between these neighborhoods while providing diversified market support for small and midsized farmers, Wholesome Wave’s “Nourishing Neighborhoods” programs succeed in raising visibility of existing Federal, State and local governmental agency programs.  By leveraging limited private funds with public funds, Wholesome Wave builds synergistic relationships that help nourish the neighborhoods of communities, farmers, farms and the people of America.  Its core Double Value Coupon Program, which launched in 2008 in farmers markets in Fairfield County, Connecticut; San Diego, California; Boston and Holyoke, Massachusetts, with the help of more than 45 partner organizations, has expanded to more than 170 markets in 26 states.

Look for CTC&G at the usual drop sites and enjoy Sustainable Connecticut magazine starting on page 49. Sustainable Connecticut cover photo of Sustainable Farmer Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm by Doreen Birdsell of Doreen Birdsell Studios Photography and Video.

A beautiful new magazine called Sustainable Connecticut has launched. This  special preview in the April issue of Connecticut Cottages & Gardens magazine (CTC&G) profiles local leaders of the sustainable food movement who are inspiring all of us to change. They are creating a wonderful ripple effect that can be felt throughout the state, and beyond. Perhaps you know some of them or they have touched your lives, or maybe even the food you eat.

Video from WTNH’s Good Morning Connecticut show introducing Sustainable Connecticut magazine on Saturday April 2 with Analiese Paik, Founder & Editor of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, and WTNH’s Steve Villanueva.

Sustainable Farmer Sustainable Connecticut magazine begins on page 49 of CTC&G with a beautiful photo of Master Farmer Annie Farrell of Millstone Farm in Wilton with one of their heritage breed hens.  Annie Farrell, the subject of the magazine’s cover story, has spent her life establishing sustainable farms and sharing her knowledge with others as a consultant. Millstone Farm was founded by Betsy and Jesse Fink and they hired Farrell to help them build “a sustainable farm whose mission it is to build a healthy local food system that enhances the natural and social environment” according to the article.

Betsy is an environmentalist and philanthropist and runs the 75-acre farm which has a small CSA and supplies the highest quality fresh produce to top farm-to-table restaurants including the Dressing Room and Le Farm in Westport, Schoolhouse at Cannondale in Wilton, the Boathouse at Saugatuck, and the Barcelona restaurant group. Millstone Farm regularly hosts teachers, students and educational events at the farm where participants can learn directly from Master Farmer Annie Farrell. If you’re a beginning gardener, don’t miss Millstone’s Backyard Workshop on April 16.

From left to right: Bill Taibe, Ryan Fibiger and seated, Alex Gunuey

Farm-to-Table Chefs & Whole Animal Butcher In the Locavore column “Staying Hungry”, I interviewed a few chefs who are leaders in the farm-to-table movement to share their latest news with readers. James Beard award-winning chef and sustainable food pioneer Michel Nischan presented at TEDxManhattan “Changing the Way We Eat” and was recently elected to Ashoka’s global fellowship of leading social entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries in recognition of his work at Wholesome Wave.

Bill Taibe, chef/owner of LeFarm restaurant in Westport and a James Beard Foundation award semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast is finalizing his restaurant’s green certification process and is planning a second restaurant. Alex Gunuey caters farm-to-school meals at the Friends School in Wilton and started Bone A Part to provide discerning canines with gourmet, locavore dog food.

Fairfield County is welcoming two new sustainable food businesses – Mario Batali’s  Tarry Lodge Enoteca Pizzeria is due to open early summer in Westport and Ryan Fibiger, a graduate of Fleischer’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats in Kingston, NY, will be opening a sustainable butcher shop specializing in whole animal (aka nose-to-tail) butchery soon in either Westport or Fairfield. Naturally chef Gunuey will be buying trimmings from Fibiger for his dog food, thereby ensuring that no part of the animal goes to waste.

Lettuce is an excellent early spring crop and easy to care for, just avoid too much sun in high summer advises author Bill Duesing.

In “Spring Lettuce” author and farmer Bill Duesing encourages us to plant some lettuce soon since it’s an excellent early spring crop that likes cool weather. Duesing is Executive Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (CT NOFA) and recommends planting every 2-3 weeks so gardeners can enjoy lettuce through October. CT-NOFA is not just for farmers (I’m a member!) so please take a look at their upcoming workshops and events-one might be just right for you.

John Turenne, Founder & President of Sustainable Food Systems worked behind the scenes in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and is a founding member of Michelle Obama's "Chefs move to Schools" initiative, part of her "Let's Move" campaign to combat childhood obesity.

“The Great School Food Makeover” spotlights the success of The Unquowa School in Fairfield in making over their lunch menu to feature locally sourced foods from sustainable family farms. John Turenne, who helped create Yale’s sustainable dining program, left the university to found Sustainable Food Systems and took on the school as his first client. The Unquowa School has embraced Alice Waters’ edible schoolyard philosophy by not only putting in a school garden, but also by partnering with Sport Hill Farm in Easton to offer a summer farm camp that teach kids from early on where their food comes from and how to plant, cultivate and harvest it. Campers prepare a farm fresh lunch with school chef Peter Gorman on Fridays from food they picked that morning.

Pick up the magazine at the usual drop sites for CTC&G or visit the web site for a digital copy at sustainablethemagazine.com.

Enjoy the hard work of our farmers by seeking out the bounty of Connecticut Grown this spring. Foods that are special to the season like Spring parsnips, early lettuces, and fresh goat’s milk cheeses are a treat.

Displayed on the Ch. 8 set are the following CT Grown foods purchased on closing day of the Westport Winter Farmers’ Market:

• Fresh Spring goat’s milk cheese (chevre) and yogurt from Beltane Farm
• Soft ripened goat’s milk cheese from Beltane Farm called Danse de la Lune
• Cow’s milk and yogurt from Ladies of Levita Road dairy farm
• Certified Organic kale, mesclun greens (mixed salad greens), and flowering tarragon from 2 Guys from Woodbridge farm
• Certified Organic Spring parsnips, carrots, heirloom tomato sauce and bread and butter pickles from Riverbank Farm
• Certified Organic mixed baby greens and spinach from Star Light Gardens farm
• Loin lamb chops and lamb Bolognese sauce from Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm

Please come back and let us know how you like Sustainable Connecticut magazine and what spring foods you’re enjoying now. Planting a garden? Share your garden photos with us on Facebook.

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MEDIA ALERT for August 2010

CONTACTS:

Alison Goldstein for Wholesome Wave: 646.695.7040, Alison@rosengrouppr.com

Julie Droege-Thorpe for Whole Foods: 617.803.5055, Julie.droege-thorpe@wholefoods.com

Whole Foods Market^® Partners with Bridgeport-Based Nonprofit Wholesome Wave for Donation Matching Effort

Nation’s Leading Natural Grocer Works to Nourish Connecticut Neighborhoods

WHAT: Whole Foods Market stores in Connecticut are working with local consumers to raise funds for Wholesome Wave in partnership with National Public Radio (NPR).  Bridgeport-based Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make healthy, affordable locally grown foods available to communities that would otherwise not have access to them, will receive a dollar from Whole Foods for every dollar a customer donates to NPR.  Throughout the month of August, Whole Foods Market will match up to $4,000 in customer donations.

WHEN:          August 1-30, 2010

WHERE: All seven Whole Foods Market locations throughout Connecticut:

• West Hartford locations
• Glastonbury
• Milford
• Darien
• Westport
• Greenwich

WHY: The nation’s leading natural and organic grocer is rallying the Connecticut community to support Wholesome Wave, a nonprofit with a national reach.

Since its founding in 2007, Wholesome Wave has inserted itself deep into rural and urban communities in need of nutritional and economic viability via its hallmark Double Value Coupon Program, which incentivizes the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables by doubling the value of food stamp dollars at participating farmers markets throughout the country.

This August, Wholesome Wave launched the Fruit and Veggie Prescription Program, an initiative for at-risk consumers to exchange healthcare provider-generated “prescriptions” for local fresh fruit and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHOLESOME WAVE, PLEASE CONTACT ALISON GOLDSTEIN AT ALISON@ROSENGROUPPR.COM or 646.695.7040

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For Immediate Release

SUSTAINABLE FOOD AND BEVERAGE PIONEERS INCLUDING DRESSING ROOM FOUNDER MICHEL NISCHAN FEATURED AT TWO-DAY LIVE GREEN CONNECTICUT! FESTIVAL

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NORWALK, CT – (August 16, 2010) – Scot Weicker and Daphne Dixon, co-founders of Live Green Connecticut! announced a partial list of featured guests and a sampling of the newest exhibitors for the September 18^th-19^th Festival to be held at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk.

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  Michel Nischan, Founder & CEO of Wholesome Wave

  Michel Nischan, Dressing Room restaurant owner and founder, James Beard award-winning cookbook author and chef, sustainable food pioneer and CEO of the non-profit Wholesome Wave. Michel will be speaking at 1:00pm on Saturday, September 18th and signing his latest book, “Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time.” For a complete profile of Michel Nischan, click here.

• The Westport Farmers’ Market is bringing the market to the festival! Bring your reusable bags to shop for CT Grown fruit and produce and specialty foods like cheese, granola, coffee and tea.  Lunches featuring locally grown meats, poultry, cheeses, vegetables and fruits are available from market vendors Sugar & Olives, Boxcar Cantina and Skinny Pines.

• Special screening of the documentary film Vanishing of the Bees at 1 pm on Sunday.
  

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  Marina will be signing her book "Honeybee: Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper", which made the Washington Post's "Books We Love 2009" List

  Marina Marchese, Red Bee Honey Founder, Beekeeper and Author will be speaking on Sunday, September 19^th at 2:30pm following the screening of Vanishing of the Bees. Brush up on your honeybee and honey facts because 20 lucky audience members who correctly answer Marina’s trivia questions each will win a bottle of her artisan honey courtesy of Whole Foods Market Westport. The Martha Stewart Blog just posted a story about Marina & Red Bee Honey! For a complete profile of Marina Marchese, click here.

• Newman’s Own,  Ducky Life Tea, Yumnuts and Catch a Healthy Habit have joined the list of exhibitors.

• Peace Tree Desserts and Taste by Karla Sorrentino will be serving their delicious foods using local ingredients. Peace Tree Desserts offers lovingly crafted desserts made using local ingredients and environmentally conscious practices to Fairfield County and the surrounding areas.

• Planet Fuel will be sampling and exhibiting delicious, low-sugar, organic juices for kids with no preservatives, additives or refined sugars. A portion of proceeds from Planet Fuel product sales goes to conservation groups working hard to protect habitats around the world.

• Snow Natural Soda + Vitamins All the fun, exuberance and delicious indulgence of soda without any of the unhealthy ingredients. Samples will be available.

• Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, will be sharing information about the upcoming Farm-to-Chef Harvest Celebration Week sponsored by the CT Dept. of Agriculture. Sugar & Olives, Boxcar Cantina and Skinny Pines, mentioned above, are all participating in this special event highlighting the quality and diversity of CT Grown to be held during the week of September 26-October 2, 2010.

Weicker and Dixon stated: “We are so proud to have all of these wonderful businesses and organizations participating in Live Green CT!  We are showcasing the best of Connecticut and there is a lot of excitement from our exhibitors and speakers. The message of our event is spreading, and people throughout the state are talking about it and looking forward to joining us September 18^th and 19^th at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk.

Live Green Connecticut! will take place at Taylor Farm Park in Norwalk, Connecticut September 18^th and 19^th. Featured attractions and exhibits include marine ecology and nature center exhibits, wind and solar displays, farmer’s market, hands-on kid’s activities, environmental and conservation organizations and speakers, alternative fuel vehicles, landscape and garden centers, green careers and education, eco-art, eco-fashion, entertainment, food and beverages, the SoundWaters Schooner and so much more!

Proceeds of Live Green Connecticut! will benefit the Norwalk Seaport Association, SoundWaters, Norwalk River Valley Trail and the Calf Pasture Beach Wind Power Project.

Live Green Connecticut! will be a fun-filled two day festival which will promote education, business, non-profit organizations, green technology, recycling, conservation, health and wellness, climate protection and sustainable living.  Eco-friendly businesses will showcase their green products and services. Individuals and families will come away with money saving ideas and tax incentive opportunities.

In order to be environmentally sensitive, Live Green Connecticut! has established an interactive website for the schedule of events, exhibitor information, registration and news leading up the festival.  Please visit: www.livegreenct.com.

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For more information on the festival, please contact:

Scot Weicker & Daphne Dixon, Co-Chairs
W: (203) 536-9377/(203) 536-4695
Email: info@livegreenct.com

Live Green Connecticut!
P.O. Box 59
Old Greenwich, CT 06870
203-536-9377
203-698-1766 (fax)
info@livegreenct.com

For media inquiries, please contact:

Peter Barhydt

Aberdeen Associates, Inc.

W 203-618-1709

C 203-252-4768

Peter.Barhydt@AberdeenAssociates.com

On the sweltering hot morning of Wednesday, August 4, Wholesome Wave Founder and CEO Michel Nischan, Bridgeport’s Mayor Bill Finch and Bill Quinn, Acting Director of the Department of Health and Social Services celebrated the return of the Park City Harvest farm stand at the Bridgeport Health Department with guests and the supplier of the produce, farmer Nelson Cecarelli of Cecarelli Farm in Northford, CT. The market was begun last year and is one of two Park City Harvest farm stands operating this year; the other is located at St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Guests waited in line under a tent to make their purchases and others rested at picnic tables decorated with colorful balloons in expectation of the Mayor's arrival.

Large numbers of residents showed up, some bused in from area senior centers, to purchase fresh, healthy, locally grown produce and fruit that is affordable. Thanks to a generous grant provided by an anonymous donor advised fund at the Fairfield County Community Foundation, anyone purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables at the farm stand with  food stamp SNAP/EBT benefits, WIC farmers market checks, senior WIC farmers market checks, cash and WIC cash value vouchers automatically has their value doubled. The Wholesome Wave Double Value Coupon Program has proven to be so effective that it now operates in 20 states nationwide.

Cecarelli Farms brought beautiful produce including a wide variety of peppers plus delicious plums.

During his speech Mayor Bill Finch underscored the importance of the Park City Harvest farm stands to the city. “We’re watering a food desert” and “getting good food to our people. Connecticut has neglected our cities and plowed under our fields and this is turning that around.” The Mayor cited his BGreen 2020 sustainability initiative and identified the market as part of his “vision for the future.” He was careful to thank all the people and organizations who collaborated on the initiative and called Michel Nischan “a great guy who’s doing great things for our people.” He even thanked the guests and received cheers when he announced “The more people who show up at events like this, the more politicians in other parts of the state and country will pay attention.”

According to a press release issued by Wholesome Wave:

Bridgeport farm stands run every Tuesday at the St. Vincent’s Medical Center on 2800 Main Street from 12:00pm to 5:00pm and every Wednesday at the Bridgeport Health Department on 752 East Main Street from 9:30am to 2:00pm. There is free parking in both locations, and the farm stands will be open rain or shine. Cecarelli Farm will serve as farm stand manager for both sites this year.  The 2010 farm stand season marks the second year that Wholesome Wave’s Double Value Coupon Program will be available at these two Bridgeport markets.

For more information call (203)576-8046 or visit parkcityharvest.org.

Park City Harvest Farm Stand locations in Bridgeport have reopened for the season and Wholesome Wave’s Double Value Coupon Program for SNAP/EBT and WIC recipients is once again being offered. Under this program, $10 in benefits equals $20 in fresh, CT-grown,  fruits and vegetables! The markets also accept seniors farmers market checks and cash.

Summer 2010 locations open through September:

• Tuesdays, 12:00 – 5:00: St. Vincent’s Medical Center, 2800 Main Street
• Wednesdays, 9:30 – 2:00: Bridgeport Health Department, 752 East Main Street

Park City Harvest is a project of Wholesome Wave  and the Healthy Bridgeport Alliance.

Michel Nischan is a James Beard awarding-winning chef, cookbook author, restauranteur and founder and CEO of Wholesome Wave. Michel currently writes a regular monthly column for the Atlantic.

Video: Watch Wholesome Wave’s founder and CEO, Michel Nischan, interviewed on  the “Making a Difference” segment of the NBC Nightly News with Brian William. In it, NBC’s John Yang visits with Michel at farmers’ markets and his family’s backyard garden to discuss the incredibly positive impact Wholesome Wave’s Double Value Coupon Program is having around the country as it provides inner city neighborhoods with access to fresh, healthy and affordable locally grown food.

For more information about Wholesome Wave’s Nourishing Neighborhoods programs, visit www.wholesomewave.org.

Read more about local food hero Michel Nischan in his profile in Who’s Who in Sustainable Food CT.

For Immediate release:

The Westport Farmers Market welcomes sustainable food advocate, restaurateur and bestselling author Michel Nischan as our special guest at the Thursday, July 1,  regularly scheduled market on Imperial Avenue. Michel will be discussing his latest cookbook, Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time, and Nourishing Neighborhoods programs run through his nonprofit Wholesome Wave.

NBC will be interviewing Michel during the market to discuss Wholesome Wave’s efforts to make local, healthy and sustainable foods available to all to air as an evening news expose. Come out and support our hometown hero!

What:  Westport Farmers’ Market hosts Michel Nishan and NBC.
When:  Thursday, July 1, 2010, 10:00 – 2:00
Where: Imperial Avenue Commuter Parking Lot

Contact:  Lori Cochran Dougall: (307)690-1759

Lori Cochran Dougall
Westport Farmers’ Market
Market Manager
(307)690-1759

For Immediate Release

CONTACT:      Diane Stefani                                                Alison Goldstein

212.255.8224                                                646.695.7040

diane@rosengrouppr.com alison@rosengrouppr.com

Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant Taps Jon Vaast as New Head Chef and Unveils American Tapas Menu

– Award-winning Chef and Owner Michel Nischan Ramps Up Efforts of Wholesome Wave –

Westport, CT. (May 21,  2010) -Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant, a Westport, Connecticut restaurant committed to serving local, natural and organic American food, today announced the promotion of Jon Vaast to head chef.

This move comes as Michel Nischan, James Beard Award-winning chef, cookbook author and sustainable food leader, shifts roles from chef to restaurateur and to nonprofit President and CEO. Wholesome Wave, the nonprofit he founded in 2007, is dedicated to increasing production of and access to fresh and affordable locally grown food in historically excluded neighborhoods throughout the country. “I’ve always yearned for the reality of a sustainable food system that moves beyond the white table cloth realm. Being a restaurateur, while at the helm of Wholesome Wave, allows me to expand the founding principles of Dressing Room to new horizons,” said Nischan.

Dressing Room opened in 2006 when Nischan teamed up with the late Paul Newman to open a restaurant that reflected their shared commitment to neighborly hospitality, sustainable ingredients and regional American heirloom food.  ”An original employee since the opening of Dressing Room, Jon has a clear understanding of the Dressing Room vision and the homegrown foundation upon which the restaurant was built,” said Nischan. “We are eager to witness Dressing Room’s evolution under Jon, our young whipper-snapper.” Vaast will steward valued relationships with local producers while taking the helm of Dressing Room’s new small plates menu, which offers diners Dressing Room’s homegrown tastes in a more affordable format.

As Vaast, 24, takes over day-to-day operations at Dressing Room, Nischan will focus on growing Wholesome Wave’s lynchpin initiative, the Double Value Coupon Program (DVCP).  The program harnesses relationships between government agencies, community-based organizations, educational institutions and residents of communities, to double the value of benefits provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) via Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Food Stamps.   The DVCP serves over 150 farmers’ markets in more than 15 states with over 25 participating partners, and was recently cited in the White House Childhood Obesity Task Forces Report as one of 70 policy recommendations. “We believe our programs can make it possible for under-served communities to be the underdog heroes of a changed food system,” says Nischan.

About Dressing Room:

Located adjacent to the legendary Westport Country Playhouse, Dressing Room is a reflection of founders Paul Newman and Michel Nischan’s mutual commitment to neighborly hospitality, local, natural and organic ingredients and regional American heirloom food.  Dressing Room’s meats are pasture-raised by family farmers practicing humane animal husbandry. Their fish comes from sustainable, well-managed wild sources or aquaculture systems. All fruits and vegetables are sourced from local or regional producers. Located just an hour from New York City, Dressing Room is constantly researching new sources for organic and biodynamic foods and beverages. Dressing Room was named “Best Lunch: by County” and “Best Lunch: Statewide Runner-Up” by Connecticut magazine readers in 2010. For more information, please visit www.dressingroomhomegrown.com.

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF EASTERN FAIRFIELD COUNTY

GETS TO THE CORE OF HEALTHY EATING

New Program, in Collaboration with Wholesome Wave Foundation, Helps Make Local, Affordable Produce Accessible to
Mercy Learning Center Students

Fairfield, CT, October 8, 2009 – The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County (JLEFC) (www.jlefc.org) has teamed up with Mercy Learning Center to promote good nutrition with the new “Healthy Eating” program. The pilot program will provide fresh and affordable produce to twenty-five students from the not-for-profit, Bridgeport-based Mercy Learning Center and will teach them how to cook traditional meals in more healthful ways. Students will have the opportunity to purchase fruit and vegetables at a farm stand in Bridgeport with the help of Wholesome Wave Foundation, a not-for-profit founded to make locally-grown, sustainable foods available to all.

The JLEFC will kick-off the innovative “Healthy Eating” pilot program with a field trip to the Marina Village Farmers’ Market, located in the South End of Bridgeport and a project of Wholesome Wave Foundation and the Healthy Bridgeport Alliance, on October 8^th from 10:30am-12:00pm. University of Connecticut nutrition expert Heather Harrington will explain to the Mercy Learning Center students the benefits of fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables to increase awareness and use of these neighborhood farmers’ markets. Each student will receive $20, funded by the JLEFC, in Wholesome Wave tokens to purchase produce at the market. Any change will be returned as tokens to encourage the students to return to the market.

The second part of the “Healthy Eating” program will take place in November when Analiese Paik, founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, will do a hands-on cooking demonstration and tasting for the students. She will focus on ways to use nutritious alternatives for commonly-used but heavily processed ingredients.

“This year, the JLEFC’s community outreach programs focus on improving health, nutrition and literacy for women and children,” says Susan Zaveruha, President of the JLEFC. “We are so pleased to collaborate with such outstanding community organizations in this pilot program and look forward to giving other students at Mercy Learning Center a similar opportunity to access and learn the benefits of fresh, local produce.”

By providing basic literacy and life skills, the staff at Mercy Learning Center helps over five hundred functionally illiterate women in the greater Bridgeport area improve their skills and earning potential, creating a more hopeful future for themselves and their children. “Trying to eat healthy within a very strict budget is a daunting task for anyone. But for our students at Mercy Learning Center, this concept is an even bigger challenge,” said Sharon Sanford, Student Enrichment Coordinator, Mercy Learning Center. “The Junior League’s initiative empowers our women to take steps to provide more nutritious meals for themselves and their families.”

Analiese Paik is on a mission to bring fresh, local and sustainable food to consumers of Fairfield County. Her online Fairfield Green Food Guide includes a Buying Guide and searchable database for local green food resources, a blog and a calendar of green food events.

“The trend towards buying and eating processed food is shifting towards eating fresh and local but this is generally not an easy feat to accomplish for low-income families,” says Analiese Paik, founder, Fairfield Green Food Guide. “When the Junior League presented an opportunity to educate the Mercy Learning Center students about healthier meal options, I immediately thought of Wholesome Wave’s Park City Harvest farm stands as a way to bring local, affordable produce to these women. This program represents local to its core: local community organizations using local resources to help local residents, and I am excited to be a part of it.”

Founded by chef and food policy advocate Michel Nischan to make locally grown, healthy sustainable foods available to all communities, Wholesome Wave Foundation runs three “farm-to-community” programs, including the Park City Harvest farm stands in Bridgeport, as part of its nationwide “Nourishing Neighborhoods” campaign.

“Through vegetable stands in various Bridgeport neighborhoods, Wholesome Wave strives to provide the city’s residents with affordable, healthy and convenient alternatives to conventional food shopping, while encouraging easy preparation of healthy, farm fresh foods at home,” says Michel Nischan, President and CEO, Wholesome Wave Foundation. “Mercy Learning Center’s students live and work in the heart of a historically excluded community but through the Junior League’s new program, we hope to positively impact their families’ health and wellness and help prevent a deepening health crisis.”

Made possible by a contribution from the Fairfield County Community Foundation (FCCF), Wholesome Wave Foundation recently purchased a refrigerated truck for food storage, augmenting its current farmers’ markets by making fresh, local and affordable produce even more accessible for Bridgeport residents. FCCF provides philanthropic advisory services to individual donors and helps to connect them with local causes in their own backyard.

“When we learned about the impressive work of Wholesome Wave Foundation in Bridgeport, we shared its story with a donor who has an interest in bringing fresh farm produce to cities,” said Karen R. Brown, vice president of programs, FCCF. “The donor ultimately recommended a generous $25,000 grant to be presented to Wholesome Wave Foundation for its needs for a refrigerated truck. FCCF was thrilled to connect this donor with Wholesome Wave Foundation and we are excited to see how the truck has already been put to great use, especially for the ability to bring local and affordable produce to the students of Mercy Learning Center.”

To learn more about the Junior League and its programs, please visit www.jlefc.org.

ABOUT THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF EASTERN FAIRFIELD COUNTY

The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County (JLEFC) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable. Communities represented by the JLEFC include Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Newtown, Redding, Shelton, Southport, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston and Westport. The Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County is part of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) which has developed the award-winning Kids in the Kitchen program to combat childhood obesity through education about healthy eating and exercise. For additional information, including membership and volunteer opportunities, please visit www.jlefc.org.

ABOUT MERCY LEARNING CENTER

Mercy Learning Center of Bridgeport, Inc. provides basic literacy and life skills training to low income women using a holistic approach within a compassionate, supportive environment. All women are welcome without regard for race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation or national origin. Learn more about Mercy Learning Center at www.mercylearningcenter.org.

ABOUT ANALIESE PAIK

Analiese Paik, Founder of the Fairfield Green Food Guide, LLC, is a local/sustainable food advocate, avid organic gardener and home cook. Recognizing an opportunity to marry her love of food, wine and gardening with her business and marketing expertise, Analiese launched fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com in 2009. The website features a blog, searchable database of green food resources, event calendar and e-newsletter subscription to help consumers source fresh, local and sustainable food in Fairfield County. She partnered in August with Pequot Library to host Connecticut’s first large community screening of the documentary food film FRESH, after which guests enjoyed a panel discussion by leaders in the local/sustainable food movement and an exhibition of area resources including farms, farm stands, farmers’ markets, school gardens, organic restaurants and not-for profits organizations. Analiese is a member of Slow Food USA and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut.

About Wholesome Wave Foundation

Michel Nischan, President/CEO of Wholesome Wave Foundation, is chef/author/policy advocate and a leader in the sustainable food movement. He founded Wholesome Wave Foundation – with seed funding from the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation – in an effort to make locally grown, sustainable foods available to all. Nischan is a 2008 James Beard Foundation Award winner for his work on the PBS series, Victory Garden and author of two best-selling cookbooks – Taste Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2003 (a Beard award winner in 2004) and Homegrown Pure and Simple; Chronicle Books 2005. He serves on the boards of the Amazon Conservation Team, the James Beard Foundation and Harvard’s Center for Health and the Global Environment. Learn more about Wholesome Wave Foundation at www.wholesomewave.org.

ABOUT HEATHER HARRINGTON, MS RD

Heather is an assistant extension instructor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut. The primary role of this position is to function as a public health nutritionist, reaching individuals of economic disadvantage with effective nutrition education program to improve dietary quality commensurate with the State Nutrition Education Plan. The secondary and complimentary role is to function as a preceptor for dietetics students in their community nutrition supervised practice working on this nutrition education plan. A Connecticut native, Heather attended the University of Connecticut and graduated with a B.S. degree in Nutritional Science meeting the didactic requirements in May 2005. She completed a 50 week Dietetic Internship at Yale New Haven Hospital in August 2006. She recently graduated from the Masters in Allied Health Sciences program in August 2008.

PR Contact, JLEFC

Charlotte Vinci

Cell: 843.271.7755

Email: charvinci@yahoo.com

PR Contact, Wholesome Wave Foundation

Diane Stefani

Direct: 212.255.8224

Email: diane@rosengrouppr.com