Shoppers at the Whole Foods Market at Rural and Baseline roads helped Tempe’s homeless population Wednesday as they purchased their groceries.
Five percent of Wednesday’s sales at the location went toward the purchase of a mobile shower unit to be used by the city’s homeless population as part of the “Shower Power” fundraiser organized by the Tempe Leadership organization.
Tempe Leadership is a nonprofit, community-oriented program of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce.
Tanya Chavez, community outreach and marketing coordinator for the city of Tempe, said the shower unit would provide hygiene assistance to the city’s homeless population.
“[Hygiene] will become one less obstacle for them to overcome,” Chavez said.
The shower unit will be available to homeless individuals who participate in the Interfaith Homeless Emergency Lodging Program, known as I-HELP, a coalition made up of 11 faith-based organizations in Tempe that open their facilities to the homeless seven days a week.
Many of the people who get assistance from I-HELP are active members of the community and are trying to improve their situations, Chavez said.
“There are a lot of working homeless individuals in this program, people that go to school and go to community colleges,” she said. “They haven’t reached a certain level of self-sufficiency but are working their way toward it.”
Hygiene is an often-overlooked problem facing homeless individuals trying to jumpstart their lives, Chavez said, adding that at least 30 percent of the individuals in I-HELP who have gotten jobs have then lost them because of their inability to bathe.
“It’s a horrible thing — being able to make the strides to get a job, but then losing it due to hygiene issues,” she said.
The city of Tempe doesn’t have a homeless shelter, Chavez said, and only one church in the coalition has shower facilities that can be used twice a week.
The mobile shower unit will have four shower stalls and will travel around the circuit of organizations in the I-HELP program.
Theresa Sarna, marketing supervisor for the Tempe Whole Foods store, said the store hoped to raise at least a few thousand dollars for the Shower Power fund.
“I’ve spoke to people who came here today specifically to help out,” Sarna said.
Store manager Steve Rice said he was pleased to see how busy the store was on Wednesday.
“There’s been a lot of customers today — they’re very supportive,” Rice said.
It was helpful, he said, that the Shower Power 5 percent day coincided with Whole Foods’ Wednesday lunch specials.
“It’s provided a little bit of a lift,” Rice said.
Computer engineering junior Ben Lobrutto shopped at Whole Foods on Wednesday for what he said was the first time in a long time.
“I’ve been trying to eat better, more organic and less processed food,” he said.
His shopping cart stuffed full of groceries and produce, Lobrutto said he found out his purchase was going toward a local cause after he arrived.
Whole Foods normally has two 5-percent fundraising days a year, one of which allows each of the five Arizona stores to pick a specific cause close to the location.
“Supporting the community is one of our core values,” Sarna said, and Whole Foods takes pride in assisting with projects like the Shower Power fund.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to give back,” she said.
Reach the reporter at chase.kamp@asu.edu
