Photo By Crystal Swass
The vision of Eat Better Live Better (EBLB) is crystal clear: Ensuring that all children, families and individuals have access to nutrition education and healthy foods, regardless of background or life experiences.
Founder and President Debra Tendrich decided in 2016, after losing 70 pounds and reversing her and her daughter Amira’s medical conditions, to launch a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides access to fresh produce, healthy groceries and nutrition education to the communities it serves.
“I first created a curriculum to teach more than 12,000 kids of all ages to eat healthy, and work (ongoing) with Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Lynn University and Everglades University,” Tendrich, 38, explains. “When I was learning to eat better and live better, I didn’t know where to start. I mainly stopped eating food from boxes and bags and drinking a six- to 12-pack of Coke a day — and started eating more fresh ingredients and natural food.”
Now, her goal is to prevent, reverse and reduce childhood obesity and other diet-related health conditions plaguing Palm Beach County families.
EBLB accomplishes this through its important programs and initiatives: Grocery Assistance, Superpower Snack Packs, Nutrition Education, ‘Pharmers’ Market, Pop-Up Produce and Teachers Giving.
“A Grocery Guardian is a donor who takes responsibility for one family getting food for a year, which costs about $150 a month,” says Tendrich, a California native who now lives in Lake Worth.
The organization’s main fundraising event, Feeding the Hands of Hunger Luncheon, is held every April at Boca West Country Club. This year’s fundraiser brought in $100,000.
“Our Pharmers Market program partners with health care providers and insurance companies,” Tendrich adds. “So, the outcome is a lot better if it’s a doctor giving nutritional advice and starter kits. And we recently got the Impact 100 (Palm Beach County) grant, which is helping us fund an affordable Pharmers Market.”
Other initiatives include the annual Teachers Giving Program, sponsored every November by the Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), where turkeys are gifted to teachers, school staff and custodians and a Toy Giveaway in December, where parents pick out and present toys to their kids (rather than the charity doing so).
“We have between 50 and 100 volunteers throughout the year on a regular basis and three staff members,” Tendrich points out. “We’re small but mighty. Big volunteers. Big impact.”
For more information or to support Eat Better Live Better, call 561-344-1022 or visit eblb.org.