Empire BlueCross BlueShield Provides Students in Need Access to Free and Healthy Meals

November 19, 2014 /3BL Media/ - Empire BlueCross BlueShield has partnered with CBS EcoMedia through its WellnessAd program to support KIPP NYC College Prep High School’s healthy meals program. Through a relationship with Revolution Foods, a provider of healthy, kid-inspired school meals, KIPP NYC College Prep High School now offers students access to free and healthy food options, including breakfast, lunch and snacks. ID Media, an Interpublic Group media agency, identified the opportunity and ushered the partnership to fruition by building the program into Empire BlueCross BlueShield’s media plan.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield will support the program for one full school year, impacting 614 students daily.

KIPP NYC College Prep High School is a free, open-enrollment public charter school that prepares students for success in college and in life. Currently 87 percent of students rely on the free or reduced lunch programs. Empire BlueCross BlueShield will provide these students with freshly-prepared nutritious meals to ensure all students have the nourishment they need to lead successful, healthy lives.

“We’re incredibly grateful for Empire BlueCross Blue Shield’s partnership in helping our students become healthier eaters,” said Barbara de Pesa, Assistant Principal, KIPP NYC College Prep. “The majority of our students eat breakfast and lunch every day in our cafeteria and it’s very important that those meals are well balanced, helping our students focus more on their studies and extracurricular activities to prepare for college.”

To celebrate this innovative partnership, Empire BlueCross BlueShield representatives took a tour of KIPP NYC College Prep High School and then visited the cafeteria to witness the impact of their WellnessAd funding. Hosts included Michael Ioli, Dean of Student Culture, KIPP NYC College Prep High School; Barbara De Pesa, Assistant Principal, KIPP NYC College Prep High School; Marie Mamouzette, community relations, Empire BlueCross BlueShield; Paul Polizzotto, president and founder, CBS EcoMedia; Lynn Fantom, chairman and CEO, ID Media.

“Empire is delighted to support the KIPP NYC College Prep High School’s healthy meals program,” said Brian Griffin, President and CEO of Empire. “With the help of Revolution Foods, we know that 614 children - 87 percent of whom rely on the free or reduced lunch programs - will get the nutritious food they need to support their healthy physical development and to excel in school.”

“This unique partnership dimensionalizes Empire BlueCross BlueShield’s corporate values in a very poignant way,” said Fantom. “Not only does the program make a meaningful and necessary contribution to the community, but it demonstrates the power media can have on a local level.”

“There  are  many  facets  to  addressing  the  healthcare  challenges  we  face  in  our country  – and  one  of   them  is  access  to  healthier  food  options  in our  schools,” said Polizzotto. “Thanks to the generous financial support provided by Empire BlueCross BlueShield through our WellnessAd program, students at KIPP NYC College Prep will be exposed to a healthier food environment where they’ll have the opportunity to become lifelong healthy eaters.”

About Empire BlueCross
Empire BlueCross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Services provided by Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc. and/or Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc., licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. Additional information about Empire is available at www.empireblue.com. Additional information about Empire is available at www.empireblue.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/healthjoinin, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HealthJoinIn, or visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/healthjoinin.

About KIPP NYC
KIPP NYC is a network of 5 elementary schools, 5 middle schools, a college preparatory high school, and KIPP Through College, an alumni support program. Since the opening of KIPP’s south Bronx school, they have been relentlessly focused on results – academic gains, character development, and the outcomes that ultimately matter most for our students: graduating from high school and college, embarking on a career, and becoming self-sufficient and happy. 94% of KIPP NYC alumni have graduated high school, nearly 2x the rate of minority students in NYC; 86% of our students have matriculated to college, nearly 2x the rate of low-income students nationally; and 41% of KIPP NYC alumni have earned a B.A. degree, compared to 10% of low-income students nationally. KIPP NYC is part of the national KIPP network of 162 schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving 58,000 students.

About ID Media
ID Media is an Interpublic Group media agency known for identifying and delivering accountable media solutions that create better business outcomes for marketers. Backed by a culture that's deeply accountable for results, our people drive costs down and engagement up across television, digital, and print channels. We work with many leading brands, including American Express, Nationwide, Intuit, Nikon, Cayman Islands, and Match.com. ID Media is a seven-time winner of IPG awards for diversity and inclusion, as well as a six-time winner of "Best Places to Work" awards in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit http://www.idmediaww.com.

About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.  Please visit ecomediacbs.com, like us at facebook.com/EcoMediaCBS or follow us at Twitter.com/EcoMediaCBS.

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.