13 Things Whole Foods Employees Want You To Know

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You can save money on nuts by loading up at the salad bar instead of the bulk station

The Whole Foods’ salad bar features nuts like cashews, almonds, and walnuts. You can easily save money by loading up an empty salad tray with your favorite nuts instead of buying in bulk. Then, add them to these incredible salad recipes for an extra boost of protein and nutrition.

The bulk oats, grains, and beans are worth it

In comparison to the bulk nut section, the oats, grains, and beans are cheaper in bulk. It’s also great that they have a longer shelf life too, saving you money in the long run.

The Whole Foods 365 and 365 Organic brands are as good a deal as you hoped

Shopping the Whole Foods 365 brands are the best ways to keep your bill similar to an average grocery store. (Psst: This is what your food cravings are trying to tell you.)

The food at the hot bar and bakery isn’t made in-house

According to a former bakery worker, Susan,* who worked at a Pennsylvania store location, almost everything is brought in from the outside in bags for the bakery and hot bar. Only a few of the breads are made from scratch, as well as the icing for cakes. The cakes themselves, however, come from mixes. Most of the breads come in frozen, as do all of the pastries and cookies before being baked off, according to this employee. Frozen food isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Canadians are wasting billion a year thanks to poor food practices and freezing foods could help. 

You can try anything before you buy it

This perk seems to vary by store. Susan says her store encouraged employees to let people try things before buying them—even if that meant giving them an entire $30 bottle of olive oil to take home. Another employee, John,* who worked at a Washington Whole Foods store, says sampling was restricted before his store eventually did away with the perk. Don’t miss these Whole30 snacks you’ll actually want to eat.

You can also return (almost) anything

You can return almost anything at Whole Foods—but you must do so within 30 days of your purchase, and you need to have the receipt. These products can be opened or unopened.

Butchers can debone and season fish for you

Buy your fish and season it too. John says management at his Whole Foods discouraged this service because it is too time-consuming for the busy department. Instead, they simply gave customers the product as-is with seasoning in a bag. Want to eat healthier? These are the top foods you’ll find in a dietitian’s fridge.

Likewise, one New York City location offers a fruit cutting service

The Bryant Park Whole Foods location in New York is the only location that currently offers this service. Similar to a butcher, customers can have their fruits and veggies sliced, diced, or chopped for an extra dollar.

The stickers indicate if a fruit is organic

You can double check that your fruit is organic by the sticker. If a produce PLU has a nine at the front, it’s organic.

The best day for sales is Wednesday

Whole Foods weekly sales start and end on Wednesday—that means double the sales once a week. The stores also have specific deals on each day of the week which vary by location, so it’s recommended to shop per-sale instead of in one large swoop.

And any leftover hot food is donated at the end of the day

Whole Foods donates unsold food to local soup kitchens and food banks due to a collaboration with Food Donation Connection. In the first half of 2016, 36 Whole Foods stores in the Southeast United States donated more than 1,400,000 pounds of food.

Employee perks include discounts based on your health

All employees get a 20 percent standard discount. But that percentage could reach 30 percent if workers meet certain criteria for BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, and smoking status. In John’s opinion, the BMI requirements are “extreme.”

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They celebrate food holidays with discounts and sales

In 2017, the store introduced sales celebrating various food holidays such as National Cheese Lovers Day and National Green Juice Day. Those deals and discounts vary by region.

*These employees wished to remain anonymous.