Vitamix Foundation Awards New Grants to Advance Maternal and Community Health

Nearly $415,000 awarded to partners nationwide

CLEVELAND, OH (July 22, 2025) — The Vitamix Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 grant cycle, awarding nearly $415,000 to four partners aiming to improve the health of mothers, babies, and communities through nutrition-focused innovation.

Each grantee partner is implementing evidence-based strategies with the potential to drive lasting change:

• Arkansas Children’s Research Institute, in collaboration with the ENRICH Center at Louisiana Tech University, will evaluate the effectiveness of WISE Babies, a program that encourages fruit and vegetable consumption in toddlers aged 1-3 years old through an early childcare education (ECE) curriculum. The initiative will reach 90 new ECE classrooms in Arkansas and Louisiana, while also strengthening the evidence-base to support the program’s continued expansion.
• The CDC Foundation will strengthen and lead the Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in Pregnancy Action Network, a national network focused on improving nutrition and advancing health for pregnant individuals and families across the country.
• Eat Real Certified will expand its innovative, school-based food certification program across school districts in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The expansion will elevate nutrition standards in high-need districts and pilot in-classroom nutrition education to help students make healthy food choices.
• The Teaching Kitchen Collaborative will convene national experts to define best practices in medical nutrition education, contributing to a broader movement to adopt nutrition competencies into healthcare training and delivery.

“Our partners exemplify what it means to advance individual and community health through improving access to and knowledge of the power of nutritious foods,” said Natalie Haynes, Executive Director of the Vitamix Foundation. “We are honored to support their transformative work.”

To learn more about the Vitamix Foundation and its impact, visit vitamixfoundation.org.

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About The Vitamix Foundation

The Vitamix Foundation is a nonprofit, grantmaking organization established by Vitamix to help shape a nation where diet-driven illness does not exist. Its mission is to collaborate and partner with others to further the knowledge, consumption, and enjoyment of plant-based whole foods. Grantmaking focuses on advancing nutrition science, knowledge, and innovation to improve maternal and child health outcomes by increasing access to plant-based whole foods, evidence-based nutrition education, and the resources to ensure sustainable and scalable change for families and future generations.

Contacts: Abby Szabo, Program Manager – Vitamix Foundation
aszabo@vitamixfoundation.org
216-678-2355