Arizona State University students wishing to eat organic foods now have a new option as Tempe’s “Whole Foods Market” is now accepting ASU sun dollars.
Located a little over three miles away from ASU’s Tempe campus on the corner of Rural and Baseline Roads, Whole Foods Market is a grocery store that specializes in natural and organic products.
The addition of Tempe’s Whole Foods Market to the sun dollar program brings the number of off campus merchants that accept sun dollars to over 115.
Associate store manager Marcos Espinoza said he sees roughly 100 ASU students during his eight-hour shift and that the store has been averaging $1,000 of sales a week in sun dollars.
“It enables parents to control what kids are spending on since they can’t spend it on alcohol,” said Espinoza.
The sun dollar program is a pre-paid service account managed by the ASU Sun Card office. Students can go in and deposit cash into their account and then use their sun card to pay at participating merchants. It is similar to a bank debit card, except the cash cannot be withdrawn.
ASU student and Whole Foods Market employee Daniel Kung believes that with the store being in college town and so close to school it “works to the students' benefit.”
Kung said he believes it is a good alternative for students who might not have credit cards.
ASU freshman Andres Hernandez said his family has been going to Whole Foods Market for six years back in his home city of Dallas.
Hernandez said he didn’t know the store in Tempe is accepting sun dollars but it won’t make a difference for him because he uses sun dollars for laundry and printing and doesn’t plan on using it for food.
Although Hernandez said he likes Whole Foods Market he doesn’t plan on making a trip out to the Tempe location anytime soon.
“It is kind of expensive and it adds up” he said, adding “There used to be a lot of weirdo’s there like hippies and hipsters but it’s a nice place.”
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