QuickChek and professional football player Kayvon Thibodeaux recently hosted a special event in Jersey City, New Jersey, that combined a free farmers market for local seniors with hands-on nutrition education for participating fifth graders, the retailer told NACS.
QuickChek said the November 11 activities centered on three areas: food accessibility, education and youth empowerment.
Participants took home bags of fresh produce donated by America’s Grow-a-Row, and area fifth graders learned how to prepare simple, healthy meals through interactive cooking demonstrations.
There was also a free farmers market according to the retailer, which is a continuing collaboration between America’s Grow-a-Row and Team Walker. The market provided families in the area with hundreds of pounds of locally grown fruits and vegetables. The event “underscored the power of local partnerships at a time when families are facing increasing food insecurity and reductions in SNAP benefits.”
“Kayvon brings incredible energy and authenticity to everything he does,” said Don Miller, enterprise leader of philanthropy at Murphy USA. “His influence as an athlete and community leader helps us reach young people in a way that inspires lasting change. Our partnership is about showing up together to make a meaningful impact in the lives of others.”
Thibodeaux’s work with QuickChek “builds on the mission of his Jream Foundation by connecting his leadership and visibility on the field to hands-on impact off the field.”
Thibodeaux signed a two-year ambassadorship deal with QuickChek in 2024.