RALEIGH, N.C. – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) announced Thrive NC today which will debut this spring in Raleigh. Despite North Carolina’s history as an agricultural state and its booming restaurant industry, nearly 1.5 million people in the state struggle to buy affordable and fresh foods. Scheduled for May 10-11 in downtown Raleigh’s City Market, the event will include a series of community activities each day. Events will showcase our state’s culinary talent while creating conversation around North Carolina’s food challenges like food insecurity and maintaining a healthy diet.
“Blue Cross NC’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of our customers and communities. Simply stated, we want to see our state thrive,” said Dr. Patrick Conway, President and CEO of Blue Cross NC. “Our vision for Thrive NC is to mobilize top restaurants, award-winning chefs, and community-minded thought leaders to work together toward solutions for the food challenges our state faces.”
The two-day Thrive NC agenda includes:
- Thursday, May 10: At the Thrive NC Summit, experts on food systems will discuss how our communities can impact some of North Carolina’s most pressing issues: childhood obesity, access to fresh and healthy food and ongoing food insecurity.
- Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11: A two-day food festival will feature top chefs from approximately 50 North Carolina restaurants serving food and drink samples against a backdrop of live music each night. Tickets will go on sale in February.
- Friday, May 11: A special community service effort, open to the public, will focus on access to fresh and healthy food.
“Thrive NC is the Blue Cross NC way of promoting conversations about healthy lifestyles while honoring our state's unique food traditions – and the best way to honor those food traditions is to taste them,” said Reagan Greene Pruitt, Vice President, Integrated Marketing & Community Engagement of Blue Cross NC. “We are so lucky to have talented chefs all over the state, running celebrated restaurants that win national awards annually. Assembling these talented individuals and wellness leaders will get everyone working toward better community health.”
For more information, including future restaurant and entertainment announcements, visit goThriveNC.com.
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About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina improves the health and well-being of our customers and communities through innovative health care products, insurance, services and information to more than 3.9 million members, including approximately 1 million served on behalf of other Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield plans. Since 1933, we have worked to make North Carolina a better place to live through our support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. Blue Cross NC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Visit Blue Cross NC online at bcbsnc.com. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Jeff Kleiber, Event Director
jeff.kleiber@octagon.com or (919) 531-0240
Chris Vurnakes, Senior Event Coordinator
christopher.vurnakes@octagon.com or (919) 451-4602
Melissa Biediger, Communications Specialist
melissa.biediger@bcbsnc.com or (919) 770-4092
April Umminger, Manager, Public Relations
april.umminger@bcbsnc.com or (919) 765-4730
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