OUR WHY
Too many preventable deaths and too much unnecessary suffering come from what we eat and what we have been systematically denied. Nearly 80% of premature deaths from chronic illness can be prevented through diet and lifestyle, yet millions of people have limited access to the fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds that protect health and support healing.
More than 39 million Americans live in low-income, limited-access food areas and over 133 million live with at least one lifestyle-driven chronic illness. Each year more than 2 million lives are lost to conditions that are largely preventable, arrestable and reversible.
This is food apartheid, which is structural injustice that restricts access to affordable, life-sustaining foods and saturates historically underserved communities with fast food and processed products that fuel illness. While emergency and acute care save lives every day, our system rarely asks why people are sick or what upstream solutions could keep them well.
We believe optimal wellness is a fundamental human right. Access to whole food, plant-based lifestyle education, nutrient-dense foods and culturally resonant wellness resources should never be dependent on zip code, income or race.
WHAT WE DO
Power is Giving delivers free, year-round, culturally aligned, physician- and expert-led, 100% whole food, plant-based lifestyle education across Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, designed to support the prevention, arrest and reversal of lifestyle-driven chronic illness in communities disproportionately impacted by food apartheid and wellness inequities.
Founded in 2016 and relocating operations to Charlotte in 2023, Power is Giving serves adults, youth and families through trusted community spaces including libraries, recreation centers and community partner sites.
Our work prioritizes evidence-based nutrition education and equitable access to expert resources that address systemic gaps created by inequitable education, while advancing approaches that do not cause harm to human health, animals or the environment.