The eighth Houston-area location, Whole Foods Champions opened June 25 in The Vintage Marketplace, bringing healthy food and community partnerships to the Spring/Klein community.



"We're very proud of what we've built and very proud to get to know the Champions community," said Jeanette Webster, community relations coordinator.



The 44,000-square-foot location features 10 registers and 17 aisles of grocery products, not including its dairy, meat, produce, self-serve or prepared food sections. The store sells more than 250 varieties of organic fruits and vegetables. Webster said the store hopes to showcase products from local farmers and brewers.



She said the new location employs about 200 people with about 20 percent transferring from other locations. In addition to providing new jobs, the store gave 1 percent of all purchases from June 25–30 to local nonprofits, such as the Klein ISD Foundation, the D. Bradley McWilliams YMCA, Barbara Bush Library Friends and Cypress Creek Foundation for the Arts and Community Enrichment.



"The best way to get to know a community is to partner with organizations that have been there a long time," Webster said. "Community partnerships are very important to [Whole Foods]."



Whole Foods Champions10133 Louetta Road, Houston281-803-6396www.wholefoodsmarket.comHours: Sun.–Sat. 8 a.m.–10 p.m.