John Hancock, the US division of Toronto-based Manulife announced a commitment to empower sustained health and wellbeing for its customers and community partners by matching the HealthyFood™ savings of John Hancock Vitality life insurance customers with donations to Wholesome Wave, a national non-profit organization that provides affordable access to nutritious food.
John Hancock Vitality customers participating in the HealthyFood benefit can earn vitality points and enjoy discounts on purchases of fresh produce at participating grocers, and beginning today (7 February), John Hancock will match each dollar saved by customers through the HealthyFood program for the remainder of 2022 with a donation to Wholesome Wave.
Nutrition insecurity at all levels is linked to some of the most common and costly health problems in the U.S. An estimated 45 percent of deaths from heart disease, stroke or diabetes in the U.S. are linked to poor diet, and diet-related diseases like diabetes and obesity have been known to drive the highest hospitalization and death rates from Covid-19.
"Our goal is to help customers live longer, healthier lives, and with this initiative we hope to play a role in doing the same for the many households across America struggling with nutrition insecurity," said Brooks Tingle, president and CEO of John Hancock Insurance.
"Broadening access to nutritious foods supports an individual's key levers of health, helping to decrease the risk of diseases and reduce health disparities. With John Hancock Vitality, we're proud to extend the shared value approach that underpins our business model by supporting Wholesome Wave so that as our customers enjoy savings on nutritious foods, they'll know they are helping to expand access for others."
Wholesome Wave is committed to creating programs across the country that address diet-related diseases head-on by making healthy foods accessible and affordable for Americans living in under-resourced communities. The support from John Hancock will be leveraged by Wholesome Wave to implement Produce Prescription Programs and drive transformational change through state and national healthcare policy in an effort to help treat diet-related diseases through healthy food.
"We are at a pivotal point as a nation when health disparities impact more Americans than ever before," said Benjamin Perkins, CEO of Wholesome Wave. "It's on all of us – in the public and the private sector – to join forces and get healthy food on tables in a way that honors Fidelity to community, Equity in health, and Dignity in approach. We're grateful to John Hancock for this commitment and are confident it will go a long way in helping to prevent, reduce, and reverse diet-related diseases."
For more information:
Brooks Tingle
John Hancock
Tel: +1 800-732-5543
www.johnhancock.com/life-insurance/vitality
