Medifast and its OPTAVIA Community Promote Healthy Habits around the World with Third Annual Philanthropic Event

BALTIMORE, Oct. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Medifast (NYSE: MED), the global company behind one the fastest-growing health and wellness communities, OPTAVIA^®, hosted its third annual Healthy Habits For All^® Week Monday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021. Healthy Habits For All Week is dedicated to helping underserved communities around the globe adopt healthy habits through improved education and expanded access to resources.

The event kicked off near Medifast headquarters in Baltimore, MD, at the East Harbor campus of the company's long-time local partner, the Living Classrooms Foundation. Employee volunteers assembled back-to-school bags containing water bottles, jump ropes, school supplies, a kid-friendly healthy recipe and additional materials for 250 city students. Volunteers closed out the day by distributing donated Chromebooks to students enrolled in the Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students (BUGS) afterschool program, providing critical access to technology that allows students to adapt to changing environments throughout the school year.

"Healthy Habits For All aligns who we are as a company with how we give back, building on the impact our Coaches make every day," said Dan Chard, Chairman and CEO of Medifast. "Through initiatives like Healthy Habits For All Week, our Community is able to expand our mission to even more people. In collaboration with our local, national and international nonprofit partners, Healthy Habits For All equips those in need with transformational tools that support the health and wellness of today's children as well as generations to come."

This year's Healthy Habits For All Week also supported nonprofits near the company's Asia-Pacific offices through volunteer projects and No Kid Hungry^®, an organization working to end child hunger in America, through ticket sales of an exclusive virtual cooking class with celebrity chef Fabio Viviani. The restaurateur and TV host was joined by OPTAVIA Co-founder and independent OPTAVIA Coach Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen for the event. The charismatic pair led OPTAVIA Coaches and Clients through two exclusive OPTAVIA Lean & Green recipes and answered questions from the Community during the "Cook For A Cause" event. To date, in partnership with No Kid Hungry, a campaign by Share Our Strength, Medifast and the OPTAVIA Community have raised over $900,000, which can help provide up to 9 million meals to kids in need*.  

For more information on Medifast or OPTAVIA, visit Medifastinc.com or OPTAVIA.com.

*Meal equivalency varies during COVID-19 relief. Learn more at NoKidHungry.org/OneDollar

About Medifast®:
Medifast (NYSE: MED) is the global company behind one of the fastest-growing health and wellness communities, OPTAVIA^®, which offers scientifically developed products, clinically proven plans and the support of Coaches and a Community to help Clients achieve Lifelong Transformation, One Healthy Habit at a Time^®. Based on more than 40 years of experience, Medifast has redefined direct selling by combining the best aspects of the model. Its community of independent OPTAVIA Coaches has impacted 2 million lives and teaches Clients how to develop holistic healthy habits through the proprietary Habits of Health^® Transformational System. Medifast is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and ranked second on FORTUNE's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list in 2020. The company was also named to Forbes' 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America list in 2017. For more information, visit MedifastInc.com or OPTAVIA.com and follow @Medifast on Twitter.

SOURCE Medifast