Whole Foods Market’s Whole Kids Foundation aims to raise $4 million to fund programs that give schoolchildren in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. better access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Why? Did you know…
- One in three U.S. children is overweight or obese.
- 30.5 million children in the U.S. participate in the national school lunch program.
- For some children, this is the only daily meal they can count on.
Whole Kids Foundation
Throughout September, Whole Foods Market shoppers can get involved in one or more of the following ways:
- by participating in one of hundreds of in-store Growing Healthy Kids campaign events or
- by making donations at store checkouts or online at wholekidsfoundation.org.
Because Whole Foods Market covers all of the foundation’s operational costs, 100 percent of every dollar donated directly supports Whole Kids Foundation® programs. The campaign’s goal is to raise $4 million to fund school salad bars and gardens, and nutrition education classes for teachers.
“The Growing Healthy Kids Campaign is an integral part of the foundation’s work,” said Nona Evans, president and executive director of Whole Kids Foundation. “It provides us the opportunity to raise funds to support our programs, and to engage with community members that shop at Whole Foods Market and care about children’s nutrition and health.”
Impacting young lives
Since 2011, Whole Kids Foundation’s programs have impacted more than 4 million children in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. To date, the foundation has funded over 3,600 school gardens and helped implement 4,600 salad bars in schools. Additionally, Whole Kids Foundation has reached 11,000 teachers with its healthy teacher education program.
As part of this year’s Growing Healthy Kids Campaign, each of the following supplier partners has pledged to donate $40,000 to support the foundation’s work:
- Annie’s,
- Applegate,
- Back to Nature,
- Barbara’s Bakery,
- Cascadian Farm,
- Clif Kid,
- Health Warrior,
- King Arthur Flour,
- Organic Valley,
- Rudi’s Organic Bakery,
- Tom’s of Maine
- and Stonyfield Farm.
Laser focus
Whole Kids Foundation® keeps a laser focus on programs that support schools and inspire families to improve nutrition. With resources from this annual campaign, the organization is able to evolve and respond to changing needs over time. As part of a new initiative this year, Whole Kids Foundation® recently awarded $200,000 to nine recipients through its Healthy Kids Innovation Grant. The donations were created to fund the next generation of ideas in children’s nutrition and engage kids in making healthy food choices.
Apply today
Here’s how you can get involved: Visit Whole Kids Foundation and see which grants are available in Canada and/or the United States and apply before October 15. As their website says, “Given the right opportunities, kids will get excited about fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains and other nutritious foods.” Let’s help our children grow up healthy!
Feature image credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock