Whole Foods to donate to Slow Food Baton Rouge … Fire destroys Hubig’s Pies factory in New Orleans

Helping gardens grow: Whole Foods Market is donating 5% of Aug. 8 sales to Slow Food Baton Rouge, a nonprofit for a secure and sustainable local food system. SFBR has trained and given support to several youth and community gardens in the area and works to connect growers with chefs and consumers, in addition to creating a local food guide. To read more about Whole Foods’ 5% program, click wholefoodsmarket.com.

Landmark lost: A bakery that pleased New Orleans’ tastes for generations with its locally iconic line of fried snack pies was gutted by fire last week. The Simon Hubig Pie Co. in the Marigny neighborhood was a total loss, says Capt. Edwin Holmes, a New Orleans Fire Department spokesman. No one was injured. Hubig’s had operated in the neighborhood of tightly packed wood-frame structures, many more than 100 years old, since 1922. The owners say they intend to rebuild. Get the full story here.