Amazon Fresh Supports Whole Kids to Grow the Next Generation of Healthy Eaters
Relationships have always been at the heart of Whole Kids’ work. As we invest in meaningful opportunities that connect kids with food, we work with like-minded supporters who collaborate with us or amplify our efforts, and ultimately, help improve children's nutrition and wellness. Amazon Fresh is one such supporter.
MEET AMAZON FRESH
With more than 45 stores across the U.S. and more on the way, Amazon Fresh offers a seamless grocery shopping experience, both in-store and online. Customers shopping Amazon Fresh will find a wide assortment of national brands and high-quality produce, meat, seafood, and prepared foods made fresh in-store every day. Learn more about Amazon Fresh, and find a location near you.
Amazon Fresh not only provides low-priced, quality groceries, but they also support the local communities where their physical stores are located by creating hundreds of high-quality local jobs and donating surplus food to local food banks through Feeding America.
TOGETHER WE’RE GROWING HEALTHY KIDS
Our annual Whole Kids Garden Grant program provides $3,000 grants to K-12 schools to implement an on-campus garden for the first time or for schools with existing gardens to strengthen their program. The grants also fund edible learning spaces in non-school environments that support children's programming such as community gardens, libraries, museums, or after-school programs.
Since 2011, we have awarded funding for more than 8,500 edible gardens, investing over $20 million and benefiting more than 5.5 million students! We recently announced that we awarded $1.75 million in Garden Grants for the 2024 annual grant cycle. Amazon Fresh supported this year’s grant with a $250,000 donation, funding 83 gardens for more than 50,000 students in the communities we serve. Together, we can support more than 290,000 students in 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., and 9 Canadian provinces.
“Hands-on learning gardens are an important starting point in the journey to create healthy eating habits for thousands of kids across the country. When kids have a hand in growing fruits and vegetables, they are more likely to try them, enjoy them, and inspire other kids to do the same. Additionally, kids who grow up enjoying fruits and vegetables are more likely to continue eating them through adulthood. We’re so grateful to Amazon Fresh whose generous donation in the Whole Kids Garden Grant program this year will allow more students to get a jumpstart on a lifetime of enjoying healthy food.”
McKinley Technology High School | Washington, D.C.
“Amazon Fresh is proud to team up with Whole Kids in their mission to support schools and inspire families to improve children’s nutrition through balanced meals. The Foundation’s school programs align with our own goals of making more high-quality and affordable food accessible, inspiring families to make meals together, and ultimately getting kids excited about fresh fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious foods.”
SUCCESS STORIES
Gardens are becoming an increasingly common educational tool and support a wide range of classroom curriculums including science, nutrition, math, and art. Many gardens are integrated into the fabric of the schools and the academic experience of every student.
A research study funded by Whole Kids (among other sponsors) shows that students who participate in gardening, nutrition, and cooking classes eat more vegetables per day than they did before the programs. So, every new or expanding learning garden can make a difference.
Take a look at three schools located near Amazon Fresh stores that were awarded their first Garden Grants in 2021 and have just been awarded a renewal grant. As these gardens grow, so can their impact on students.
Child’s Voice | Wood Dale, IL
The mission of Child’s Voice school is to empower children with hearing loss to be successful in educational and social settings by optimizing their listening, speaking, and academic skills. Their multi-faceted garden program features a vegetable garden, a sensory garden, and a butterfly garden, which provide distinctly different opportunities focused on language and vocabulary development. Learn more.
Piccolo School of Excellence | Chicago, IL
The garden at the Piccolo School of Excellence benefits both its students and the greater community. The hands-on space is built on three pillars: nutrition, community, and nature, which spans a wide range of lessons from science, health, and cooking demonstrations to social and emotional learning. There is also a farm stand where students, their families, and neighbors can get fresh, free produce to take home. The surplus is then donated to community-run, free-food fridges across Chicago that provide accessible, nutritious food every hour of every day. Learn more.
Stratford Friends School | Newtown Square, PA
Stratford Friends School supports elementary through 9th grade students with language-based learning differences. Their Food for Life program builds upon the school’s tradition of gardening with hands-on experiences in growing, cooking, and enjoying healthy foods through an integrated STEM approach. These lessons explore horticultural, career education, financial education, and nutrition to help develop key life skills students can use as adults. Learn more.
Whole Kids is grateful for Amazon Fresh’s generous support in helping our Garden Grant program sprout up in new places, reaching thousands more kids!