How Thrive Gives Helps One Military Family Eat Healthy, Even in the High Desert

Relocating to the middle of the Mojave Desert was a big transition for the White family. “This is our fourth move, and definitely the most challenging,” My White admits. “You basically drive all the way out to the middle of the desert, and when you get to the end of the freeway you hit Fort Irwin. It’s the only thing you can see for miles.”

On base, My and her family have everything they need to get by. There’s a Starbucks, a bowling alley, and a commissary offering affordable food—but the selection of organic, gluten-free, and natural products is limited. If the Whites want to take their twin four-year-old girls out to eat, there are basically two options: go to a fast-food joints like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Popeyes, or drive 40 minutes to Barstow, the closest city.

“I’m a pretty big foodie,” My explains, “and I want to feed my family healthy stuff. It had been a real struggle to find what we needed until we became Thrive Gives members.” She first learned about Thrive after seeing that Jillian Michaels gifted Thrive Gives memberships to hundreds of military families. As the wife of an active-duty service member, My found that her family qualified for a free membership and immediately signed up.

“I’m so happy I don’t have to drive an hour in the desert just to get my basics!” she says with a laugh. In the video above, the whole family chimes in about how Thrive Gives has changed their lives.

For every Thrive Market membership sold, another is donated directly to a family like the Whites. When you join, you’re giving the gift of health to someone who needs it. Take it a step further and donate to the Spread the Health campaign to subsidize another member’s purchase—even a dollar makes a difference when it comes to buying healthy, wholesome food.

We believe that everyone deserves the right to access healthy food. But even in the United States, it can prove impossible for some families. So we created Thrive Gives: a program that gives access, family by family, to affordable healthy products. Click here to see if you qualify for a free Thrive Gives membership!