Whole Foods Stores Eliminating Plastic Straws in Stores In a response to customer demands,br Whole Foods has decided to stop offeringbr plastic straws in all 500 of its stores. The company will now offer paper straws inbr their juice bars, coffee bars and cafes, with plasticbr straws still available for those with disabilities. Whole Foods claims to be the firstbr national grocery chain to make thisbr environmentally friendly change. They’ve also pledged to reduce their plasticbr usage in other departments by offeringbr smaller plastic bags in the produce section, as well as by replacing the hard plasticbr cases for their rotisserie chickensbr with bags that are 70 less plastic. Whole Foods,br via statement Whole Foods previously made environmentallybr conscious changes in 2008 when they stoppedbr offering disposable plastic bags at checkout. They now only use paper bags andbr offer reusable plastic bags for purchase.