New York Giants Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie’s Dreambuilders program, Blessings in a Backpack and UnitedHealthcare are providing healthy meals to 250 children at PS 15 in Manhattan, and PS 502 and PS 102 in Brooklyn every weekend for a year.
Dreambuilders and UnitedHealthcare today kicked off the second year of their “food for children” collaborative with fun-filled, healthy activities for students at PS 15. Students pedaled blender bikes, making healthy smoothies for Rodgers-Cromartie to taste-test. He also took students through some football-style warm-ups; threw the football with the students; and talked to them about the importance of being physically active and staying healthy.
“Access to healthy foods and staying active are critical to helping kids reach their full potential,” said Rodgers-Cromartie, who launched his Dreambuilders program in 2014. “Through our work with Blessings in a Backpack and UnitedHealthcare, children at these three schools will continue to receive bags of food they can eat over the weekend that will give them the energy they need to be kids.”
“Programs such as Dreambuilders help address a significant need in our communities – giving children access to healthy food,” said Michael McGuire, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of New York. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to partner with Dreambuilders and Blessings in a Backpack to help children develop a lifelong commitment to good health.”
From 2011 to 2013, nearly 500,000 – or one in four – children in New York City lived in households that did not have an adequate food supply, according to a 2014 study by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger.
“It is through the generous support of organizations like Dreambuilders and UnitedHealthcare that we can provide backpacks of food to children so they can have food they need during those times when free or reduced-priced school lunches are not available,” said Brooke Wiseman, CEO, Blessings in a Backpack.
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company, serves nearly 4 million residents
