Amazon Funds Breakfast Program for Thousands of Greater Nashville Students

This morning at 9 a.m., Amazon hosted a “Breakfast Bonanza” at La Vergne Lake Elementary School to celebrate the launch of its “Rise & Smile” campaign, which allows all students at the school to receive a healthy breakfast in the classroom.

Through a partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, La Vergne Lake is one of 100 schools nationwide to receive this grant from Amazon, including two additional schools in the Greater Nashville area.

Mark Marzano, General Manager of Amazon’s Lebanon Fulfillment Center, addressed students at the assembly and emphasized the importance of having access to a nutritious breakfast in schools. La Vergne Mayor, Dennis Waldron; Director of School Nutrition for Rutherford County Schools, Eric Smith; and representatives from the Rutherford County School Board were also present at the event.

“This program means a lot for La Vergne Lake and our community,” Smith said. “Teachers here had expressed to me that they were bringing in food for their students in the mornings, because they were so distracted by how hungry they were. These little things can make a big difference in the children’s lives and their futures, and we’re really grateful to Amazon and Share Our Strength for helping us get this program off the ground.”

Employees from Amazon’s Murfreesboro and Lebanon fulfillment centers participated with students in an engaging, nutrition-themed trivia game and handed out bananas after the assembly.

Principal Paige Johnson says that school administrators are already seeing benefits in the classroom as a result of the Rise & Smile campaign.

“La Vergne Lake is honored and blessed to participate in Amazon’s Rise & Smile program, which provides all of my students with free breakfast each and every day,” Johnson said. “The parents I’ve spoken to are also very thankful, and we hope that it continues to have a positive effect on our students’ achievements in the classroom.”

Amazon’s grants are expected to result in over 3.1 million breakfasts in the classroom for more than 29,000 students across the country.