Whole Foods Market was founded in 1978 when John Mackey and Rene Lawson Hardy opened a small natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, Texas. They later partnered with two others and merged with another store to form the original Whole Foods Market in 1980. Less than a year later, a major flood devastated Austin and the store's inventory. As of February 2022, Whole Foods Market has over 666 shareholders, owns over 313 million shares worth over $16.7 billion. The company also operates the Whole Planet Foundation to fund poverty alleviation efforts where it sources products, with a current campaign goal of raising $7 million to help over 250,000 people.