OUR YEAR-ROUND CHARLOTTE, NC PROGRAMS
With a focus on shifting lifestyle-driven chronic illness and addressing systemic inequities, all of our programs begin with the acronym “EDD,” which stands for Eat Drink Disrupt. Each EDD program meets community where we gather, delivering culturally aligned, whole food, plant-based, evidence-informed lifestyle education for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC.
MISSION STATEMENT
Delivering whole food, plant-based nutrition and lifestyle education that equips disproportionately impacted communities with tools that support the prevention, arrest and reversal of lifestyle-driven chronic illness.
VISION STATEMENT
A future where intergenerational wellness, equity and opportunity are realities in every community.
CORE VALUES
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EQUITY AND ACCESS
We believe optimal wellness equity is a human right and deliver culturally aligned, whole food, plant-based nutrition and lifestyle education in communities where systemic barriers limit access to optimal health education and wellness resources. -
EVIDENCE AND RELEVANCE
Our work is grounded in peer-reviewed science and delivered in ways that translate evidence into culturally resonant solutions that can be applied in everyday life. -
CULTURAL ALIGNMENT AND RESPECT
We deliver education through trusted community spaces and voices that reflect cultural foodways, lived experience and real-life conditions, making learning relevant, practical and sustainable. -
EXPERT-LED IMPACT
Our physician-led approach shifts communities from disease management to prevention, arrest and reversal of lifestyle-driven chronic illness.
WHY OUR WORK MATTERS
Lifestyle-driven chronic illness remains one of the most urgent health challenges facing Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC. Under-resourced communities experience the highest rates of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, while also facing the lowest access to culturally-aligned nutrition education, affordable produce and optimal wellness support. Far from individual failures, these rates represent predictable outcomes of systemic inequity.
Many of the neighborhoods we serve live with what public health experts call food apartheid, which is a system where race, income and geography shape who has access to fresh, affordable foods and who doesn't. It’s not solely about distance to a grocery store, it’s about the political, social and economic decisions that create health gaps in the first place.
Power is Giving helps to bridge this gap by delivering trusted, evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle education in spaces and with experts where community members already gather, feel seen and heard.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?
Aside from being the only non-profit organization providing free, culturally aligned, whole food, plant-based (WFPB) nutrition and lifestyle education programs in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC, we share peer reviewed, evidence-based insights, flavors and protocols that support the prevention, arrest and reversal of lifestyle driven chronic illnesses in disproportionately impacted communities.
WFPB Lifestyle benefits include:
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High fiber, low caloric and nutrient-rich
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Helps to significantly lower inflammation, cholesterol and blood sugar
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Helps to improve immune function and lowers risk of colds & flus
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Helps to improve sleep, mood and mental clarity
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Supports the prevention and arrest of the progression of numerous autoimmune diseases
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Supports the prevention, arrest and reversal heart disease and type 2 diabetes
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Provide tools that support improved quality of life