In 1970, the Whole Foods buying club was formed by 20 people in Duluth, Minnesota.

Whole Foods went on to take over the operations of the West End Co-op in 1981, only to see it close two years later.

In 2005, the cooperative expanded into a LEED certified building located at 610 E 4th St.[1] Whole Foods was the first retailer in Minnesota and the first cooperative in the nation to receive LEED certification for its building.

[2] After the Minnesota Health Department stopped allowing participants in the WIC program to purchase organic food in 2002, the cooperative offered to cover the difference and take a loss on behalf of its customers, but was refused by Health Department officials.

In 2016, Whole Foods Co-op expanded by opening a second location in the Denfeld neighborhood of Duluth, Minnesota.