Thrive Gives: Giving Teachers and Students a Healthy Start to the School Year

September’s here! That means it’s Back-to-School season for teachers across the country. To mark the end of our Healthy Summer campaign, we partnered with Teach for America, Los Angeles, and supplied 270 new teachers with free Thrive Market memberships! (Plus, we provided the snacks at the teachers’ orientation to help kick off a wholesome new school year.)

Teach for America is a national network of educators, advocates, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and community members who are committed to giving every child an equal opportunity to learn, grow, influence, and lead. The L.A. branch has been serving the community for 20 years and is comprised of 800 corps members who teach more than 65,000 students daily. Here’s what the district is up against:

• Los Angeles houses the second-largest school district in the country, serving almost 700,000 students annually!
• More than 95 percent of the students served are eligible for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program.
• Only 15 percent of fourth-grade public school students in California who were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch scored at or above proficient reading levels on the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam.

Educators often express high stress levels inside and outside the classroom so Teach for America is a strong advocate of prioritizing wellness. “We truly believe that incorporating healthy and fresh foods contributes to teachers’ overall wellness, and we’re excited for the opportunity Thrive Market is providing to our teachers. Many of them work in food deserts, or communities with unhealthy food options, so now they can readily obtain healthy and organic foods they otherwise might not have daily access to,” said Marketing and Communications Manager Eddy Gonzalez. And it’s not only the teachers who benefit. “This also creates an opportunity to bring healthy options to their classrooms, and introduce their students to better snack alternatives.”

Thanks to membership donations at checkout, we’re able to continue providing support to essential programs like Teach for America!