No bae, no problem: Whole Foods Market has Valentine’s Day covered

Donating to join the virtual events benefits the Independent Restaurant Coalition

Things to know about Galentine's Day Galentine's Day is a celebration of female friendship. It's typically celebrated on Feb. 13, the day before Valentine's Day. The creation of Galentine's Day is credited to a 2010 episode of "Parks and Recreation." The episode saw Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope gather her closest lady friends for a meal of waffles and a celebration of love. It's not a national holiday, but retailers including Walmart and Target fill their shelves with goods related to the celebration.

Who says Valentine’s Day has to be all about romantic relationships?

Galentine’s Day has taken off in recent years and Singles Awareness Day is celebrated on Feb. 15, so why not do something to mark both occasions?

Whole Foods Market is doing just that with a series of virtual live cook-along events Feb. 13-Feb. 15 with the first and the last days focused on girlfriends and singles respectively.

First up is Galentine’s Day on Saturday. Atlanta native and comedian/actress Heather McMahan will serve up laughs with her mother, Robin, and sister, Ashley, as they show you and your girls how to make their family’s steak crostini with basil vinaigrette sauce.

Sandwiched in between on Valentine’s Day Sunday is a virtual event hosted by actress and vegan lifestyle personality Tabitha Brown, whose viral self-care videos have taken over amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Brown will be joined by her husband, Chance to make a vegan meal of “vallops” — vegan scallops — with herb-filled vegan butter and Whole Foods Market Hearts of Palm pasta. Alternatively, you could pair it with your favorite noodle.

Then on Monday, Singles Awareness Day, join author, podcast host and comedian Matt Bellassai as he works his extraordinary unprofessional baker ways and makes chocolate lava cake, which you get to luckily indulge in all by yourself.

Registration for each event is open now and you can buy tickets by making a donation to the Independent Restaurant Coalition through Eventbrite. Once you do, you’ll unlock access to a list of ingredients to purchase before the event so you can cook, bake and sip your favorite beverage.

Independent Restaurant Coalition is a grassroots organization for independent restaurant owners and chefs formed to advocate for the hundreds of thousands of local restaurants and bars that have been impacted by COVID-19.

“America’s 500,000 independent restaurants and bars are grateful to Whole Foods Market for their support this holiday,” Erika Polmar, chief operating officer at the Independent Restaurant Coalition said in a press release. “Valentine’s Day weekend — typically one of the busiest weekends of the year for restaurants — will be yet another massive revenue loss facing our industry. The donations from ‘Gourmet Date for Good’ will provide significant assistance to help ensure they can fully reopen when it is safe to do so.”

Additionally, Whole Foods Market match all ticket donations up to $50,000.

Gourmet Date for Good

Galentine’s Day with Heather McMahan, 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13

Valentine’s Day with Tabitha Brown, 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 14

Single’s Awareness Day with Matt Bellassai, 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15

Donate to register