GENYOUth Announces Donation of $285,000 from Florida Blue Foundation for Delivery and Distribution of School Meals to Food Insecure Students

NEW YORK, March 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  GENYOUth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating healthier school communities, announced today the donation of $285,000 from Florida Blue Foundation to GENYOUth's End Student Hunger Fund to support the delivery and distribution of nutritious school meals to thousands of students living in high-need communities.

The donation, which is part of Florida Blue Foundation's focus on addressing food security in the state, will provide grants to a total 82 schools to ensure over 83,000 students continue to receive nutritious meals to help them thrive throughout the year. The program targets schools in four counties across the state in alignment with the Foundation's Growing Resilient Communities initiative to address generational poverty in select underserved and under-resourced communities in Florida.

"Access to nutritious food is essential for good health, development and overall well-being. The Florida Blue Foundation is focused on supporting organizations like GENYOUth that are providing community-based solutions to improve food security across our state," said Susan Towler, Florida Blue Foundation executive director. "Supporting students so they can focus on their education, instead of where their next meal may come from, is critical to their development and success."

"In the schools that are receiving grants, 75 percent of students rely on school meals for a significant portion of their daily nutrition, and for many kids school meals are their only source of daily nutrition," said Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth. "All students deserve to have access to the nutrition and meals needed to start their day. We are grateful to our partners at Florida Blue Foundation and the Florida Dairy Council for continuing to tackle youth hunger and food security, and for ensuring more students will have access to nourishing meals that include milk as part of healthy school meals."

"Every day, school meals provide students with the essential nutrients to fuel their minds and bodies throughout their academic day. Florida's dairy farmers are proud to provide milk, dairy products, and other in-kind support for school meals and are grateful to partner with GENYOUth and Florida Blue Foundation to help end student hunger," said Teresa Moran-Wiebe, Dairy Council of Florida.

Florida Blue Foundation's and GENYOUth's donation is part of a larger legacy of investing in and building upon efforts to support Florida school communities and nutrition staff. Since the start of the Covid pandemic, GENYOUth's End Student Hunger Fund has helped school nutrition teams close the gap in funding, ensuring continuity of school meals across the state and enabling the delivery of over 56,000 meals per day, and 10 million meals per year, to Florida students in need. As part of Super Bowl LV's Forever 55 Super School Breakfast Initiative in 2020 and 2021, Florida Blue donated over 55 Grab and Go breakfast carts in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties to increase access to over 5 million school meals for their students.

About GENYOUth
GENYOUth is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that creates healthier school communities. We convene a network of private and public partners, including Fortune 100 companies and foundations, to raise funds for youth wellness initiatives that give youth the inspiration, motivation, and programs to be healthy high-achieving students. GENYOUth's flagship program, Fuel Up to Play 60, enrolls over 73,000 U.S. schools, reaching over 38 million students. Our school nutrition grants increase access to healthy school meals among food insecure students. NFL FLAG-In-School is GENYOUth's fastest growing program with over 25,000 school communities reaching over 15 million students. AdVenture Capital brings out the entrepreneurial spirit and creativity of students with the support of corporate mentors to solve real world problems. And starting in 2021, GENYOUth is the official charitable partner of Taste of the NFL, a purpose-driven Super Bowl culinary experience which raises awareness and generates funds to fight hunger and food insecurity.  For more information on GENYOUth, visit www.genyouthnow.org.

About the Florida Blue Foundation
The Florida Blue Foundation enables healthy communities by making grants, building coalitions and embracing solutions that create a meaningful impact in our communities. More than 6.5 million Floridians have received services as a result of our community investments since our founding in 2001. The Florida Blue Foundation's programs are focused on advancing mental well-being, improving health equity, impacting food security and addressing systemic racism and resulting health disparities. It is a trade name of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation, Inc., an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, please visit www.FloridaBlueFoundation.com.

About the Dairy Council of Florida
The Dairy Council of Florida partners with schools throughout the state to create a culture of health and wellness for students, teachers and families. The Dairy Council of Florida provides a comprehensive approach to support healthy school environments by working to educate Florida's youth on the health benefits of milk and other nutrient-rich dairy foods. The Dairy Council of Florida programs are funded by Florida Dairy Farmers, which represents dairy farming families throughout the state. For more information, please call 800-516-4443 or visit www.floridamilk.com/in-the-schools/.

SOURCE GENYOUth