Medifast, OPTAVIA Community Advance Philanthropic Mission

Medifast hosted its second annual Healthy Habits for All Week, a week of service dedicated to helping underserved communities adopt healthy habits through improved education and access.

From Monday, Sept. 21 through Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, Medifast empowered its global community to donate and volunteer to promote healthy habit creation in their local communities.

“While Healthy Habits for All Week looks different this year due to the pandemic, our mission remains steadfast,” said Dan Chard, CEO of Medifast. “We are investing in the health and wellness of our communities—in the U.S. and abroad—by providing children the access and education they need to make lifelong transformations, one healthy habit at a time.”

Healthy Habits for All Week kicked off near the company’s headquarters in Baltimore, where volunteers assembled “mindfulness bags” in partnership with the Living Classrooms Foundation, a Baltimore–Washington, D.C. nonprofit that disrupts the cycle of poverty and makes communities safer, stronger and healthier by teaching life skills to children and youth. At a time when many people are prioritizing their mental health, independent OPTAVIA Coaches and corporate specialists will help students in underserved Baltimore communities establish mindfulness habits throughout an 8-week semester this fall. Items from the bags will be used to lead activities that promote the habits of a healthy mind.

To date, Medifast and its OPTAVIA Community have connected kids in need throughout the U.S. with up to 6 million nutritious meals. The Community has also participated in a variety of service activities, such as revitalizing health and wellness spaces in Maryland and California. In 2020, the company mobilized resources and supported local, national and international nonprofits at a critical time by:

• Partnering with its OPTAVIA Community to donate $100,000 to Share our Strength’s No Kid Hungry^® Campaign during OPTAVIA Together Live, a successful virtual live broadcast event the company hosted in July.
• Contributing funding for Chromebooks to students at the Living Classrooms Foundation so they could continue their education from home as well as donating 100 percent of the school supplies needed to lower and middle school students on the nonprofit’s East Harbor Campus.
• Providing monetary donations to a variety of charities, including Maryland Food Bank’s First Fruits Farm, Living Classrooms Foundation, Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign, The Courage Fund in Singapore, and the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong.

Independent OPTAVIA Coaches around the globe—including in Singapore and Hong Kong, where Medifast recently expanded its footprint—also pledged to donate resources and volunteer their time during Healthy Habits for All Week. The week is part of Medifast’s philanthropic initiative, Healthy Habits For All, which aims to provide the education and access necessary to make healthy habits a reality for everyone.