Baltimore riots: Whole Foods under fire for handing out free sandwiches to National Guard
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Version 0 of 1. Whole Foods found itself at the forefront of a fierce debate about police brutality when one of its stores donated food to law enforcement officials as a thank you for their presence in crisis-hit Baltimore. The organic grocery chain faced scathing attacks from some of its customers after publishing a photograph on its Market Harbor East Facebook page showing sandwiches being delivered to law enforcement teams on the ground in Baltimore. A caption above the photo, which has since been deleted from the account, added: “We teamed up with Whole Foods Market Mt. Washington to make sandwiches for the men and women keeping Baltimore safe. We are so thankful to have them here and they’re pumped for Turkey & Cheese.” So this is what a Whole Foods in Baltimore is doing... pic.twitter.com/5gyNia0KuC The National Guard were deployed to dispel unrest in the area incited by the death of Freddie Gray due to spinal injuries he sustained while in police custody. Customers threatened to boycott the brand with the hashtag #boycottwholefoods for feeding enforcement officers when children were prevented from going to school that day. Many come from low-income families and may rely heavily on the meals served while they are in school. “Whole Foods chooses to feed an occupying force over all the children not allowed to go to school in Baltimore today,” tweeted one user, while another asked: “Why are you supporting a racist system? Why are you feeding the people directly harassing and assaulting black protesters?” I have other reason for not buying at Whole Foods, but this may well do it for good. http://t.co/rEpO1Dwy2Z Not surprised but appalled that @WholeFoods would hand out food to riot cops. #BoycottWholeFoods @Wholefoods Feeds National Guard & takes PR photo op while 70k+ school children go hungry b/c of school closures. #boycottwholefoods @WholeFoods Thank you for teaming up with the National Guard to provide organic, non-GMO, gluten-free oppression #boycottwholefoods .@WholeFoods Unless you plan on feeding the children not going to school in #Baltimore today I will never set foot in your store again. However, others responded positively to the image by thanking Whole Foods for feeding teams. One woman wrote: “Thank you for feeding the National Guard! And shame on the tools who label you as racist. People disgust me.” @WholeFoods @Five_Guys Thank you for feeding the #NationalGuard while they are serving our country. #Baltimore So excited and happy to see that @WholeFoods is donating to our armed brothers and sisters. @jeffreyswaim @jellyruns #BaltimoreRiots @WholeFoods Don't give into haters, thank u for feeding law enforcement, in Baltimore. We know u help communities all over the U.S.A Whole Foods defend the move on its Whole Food Markets Twitter account, where it said the company was also providing meals to Baltimore children and community organisations. A spokesperson for the company told The Independent: "For years we’ve partnered with schools, rec centres and other community organisations to provide meals, create school salad bars, plant vegetable gardens and much more to help make the city a better place. "We saw a need, and wanted to help the people of Baltimore. We’ve been providing food and water to children across Baltimore in partnership with community organisations, and have done so in parallel with the food and water we’ve provided to first responders. "That’s a core value of our business and something we do in all the communities our stores operate in the US, Canada and UK." |