by Bella Maldonado
What began as a simple weekly donation of bananas to a local school has evolved into a global lifeline for thousands of children. Gina Gabel, co-founder of the nonprofit Thrive, was recently recognized for this transformation by being named to Inc. Magazine’s 2026 Female Founders 500 list. The honor highlights her work in creating an organization that has served over 4.7 million meals to children in Bangladesh and the Philippines since 2012.
“I was very excited, and it was a little unexpected because there are so many awesome nonprofits in the list,” Gabel said. The inspiration for Thrive struck Gabel years ago while she was living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with her young daughters.
“Kids everywhere were begging for food with their parents and looked very malnourished,” Gabel said. “It was so heartbreaking, and it was something I couldn’t look away from.”
The organization’s delivery model underwent a big transformation after a chaotic attempt at car distribution. Gabel recalls a pivotal moment when politics forced schools to close, leaving the children without their usual access to food.
“Because we knew these kids still needed food, we went to their neighborhoods to deliver out of our car,” Gabel said. “It quickly became dangerous because as soon as the community knew we had food to give away, they surrounded our car. It became tenuous in a matter of minutes, which taught us the importance of delivering food in a structured environment. From that point on, we stuck to school meals.”
By providing nutrition directly in the classroom, Thrive addressed both hunger and the cycle of poverty.
“Actually, as a result of us saying we would now provide meals for children in our school, twice the number of kids started coming to school,” Gabel said. “Normally, the parents would have the kids beg with them on the street for food, but once the promise of a meal at school appeared, attendance and education increased.”
Thrive’s evolution recently expanded to include an economic model, hiring Filipino mothers to prepare the daily meals. This ensures the food is culturally appropriate and strengthens local families.
“Having local moms cook food, we have received information that it was their first time ever receiving a stable paycheck,” Gabel said. “Actually, one woman started her own washer business, and through the amount of money she earned by cooking the meals, she was able to save up to buy a little washer, and she now uses to wash people’s clothes in the community to make money.”
Throughout Thrive’s growth, Gabel has leaned on a strong support network.
“We had a lot of people in the organization throughout the years that have given us a tremendous amount of support and help,” Gabel said. “Actually, we have a woman in Africa who runs a very similar organization. She has given us a lot of tips.”
For Gabel, the recognition from Inc. Magazine serves as a platform to encourage others to lean into the problems that keep them up at night.
“If you see any little problem that just speaks to you, even just starting small can make a huge difference,” Gabel said. “Follow your heart and use your instinct to help solve whatever problem it is that you can’t look away from.”
