TACOMA — Denise Breley is a self-described matchmaker and fairy godmother. Her job, as a regional local forager for Whole Foods Market, is to find, vet and connect food producers with her company’s customers.
Along the way she nurtures and grows those small farmers and manufactures.
From soil to shelf, Whole Foods is involved with the products it sells. It’s a business model the company has maintained from its beginning, Breyley said.
“We aren’t jumping on any bandwagon. We’ve been driving this bus for 35 years,” Breley said.
Some might say Breyley has drunk the Whole Foods Kool-Aid. But then Whole Foods doesn’t sell Kool-Aid. Or Coke. Or Fritos.
The chain, which opens its Chambers Bay store in University Place on Thursday, sells only natural products with no artificial colorings, flavorings or preservatives.
Though Whole Foods is the largest natural and organic grocer in the world (by number of products sold), it puts a strong emphasis on local produce and products.
Whole Foods provides microloans to food producers to help them buy new equipment and make other improvements. The company started the loan program in 2006 with $10 million.
During the growing season, 75 percent of the produce offered at the chain’s Northwest outlets is from the Northwest. That’s where Breyley comes in.
“As a farmer, you can grow anything. But if you don’t have a market, you’re not going to be able to share it,” she said.
In addition to farmers, Breyley also works with meat, egg, dairy, seafood and beverage producers, along with makers of inedible products.
Even if ingredients are sourced overseas — such as coffee or shea butter — Breyley tries to find local processors for the 20 Whole Foods stores in the Northwest.
There’s a lot to read at a Whole Foods Market. Just about every product contains signage stating who made it, where it comes from or how it was made.
“Our customers want to know who grows them and where they’re from,” Breyley said.
In the produce section, asparagus from Kinsey Farms in Sunnyside was selling for $4.99 a pound. In the nearby “value added” section, neatly packaged asparagus was selling for $6.89 a pound.
Breyley walked through the store and ticked off one local product after another: charcuterie from Portland’s Olympia Provisions, Maninis gluten-free pasta from Federal Way, cider from Port Townsend’s Finnriver and vodka from Gig Harbor.
“You won’t find Smirnoff here, but you will find Heritage Distilling,” Breyley said.
