About Brighter Bites
This material was funded by USDA's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - SNAP.
We are so honored to be a #KrisStops Mavs Foundation Grant recipient! 💙🤍🏀
This past year, the Dallas Mavericks and Kristaps Porzingis continued the #KrisStops community initiative to fight childhood hunger. For every block Porzingis made during the 2019-2020 season, he personally donated $500 to the MAVS Foundation. This past fall, Brighter Bites was honored to receive $10,000 from this initiative. Thank you @mavsoffcourt @dallasmavs @Kporzee for your generous support for our mission to create communities of fresh food in the Dallas area! We'd say this was a SLAM DUNK for our families! 🏀
#KrisStops #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesDallas #partnership #nonprofit #freshproduce #nutritioneducation
Today we honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
#MLKDay #MartinLutherKingDay
Thank you @sweetgreen for choosing Brighter Bites Austin as a social impact partner this year! 💚
We love getting to share this joy with our Brighter Bites communities in Austin! Thank you for your generous donation of 315 colorful and healthy salads to our Brighter Bites families. 🥗🥬🥑🍅🥦🥕🥒
You sure are making a tasty impact on our communities!
#BrighterBites #SweetGreen #partnership #FreshProduce #FruitsAndVegetables #fruits #vegetables #nonprofit #NutritionEducation #HealthyEating #FunFoodExperience
That's a wrap for our first full week of spring programming in our cities!
This week, our families at Robinson Elementary in Houston, TX received these beautiful boxes full of grapes, carrots, oranges, potatoes, limes, and bananas. What a great variety of produce! So many options to cook up in the kitchen. What would you make with this box of produce?
🍇🥔🥕🍌🍊
#BrighterBites #FreshProduce #FruitsAndVegetables #fruits #vegetables #nonprofit #nutritioneducation
We are kicking off the new year with a classic! 🎉 In honor of National Spaghetti Day 🍝, we are sharing our Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe. This recipe is flavorful, easy to make, full of nutrition, and budget-friendly. 🥫🧅🧄🥕It is sure to fit in with all of your new goals this year. 💪
Check out the recipe below and let us know what you think!
INGREDIENTS
•2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
•1 large onion, finely chopped
•1 large carrot, finely chopped
•1 stalk celery, finely chopped
•4 cloves garlic, minced, or ½ tsp garlic powder
•1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
•1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes, no salt added
•½ tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to brown (5-8 minutes). Stir in garlic and Italian seasoning; cook for about 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes and cook until thickened (about 4-6 minutes). Stir in salt. Serve over whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash!
NUTRITION FACTS FOR ONE SERVING (approx. ½ cup; makes 10 servings): 45 calories; 9 grams carbohydrate; 1 gram fat; 2 grams protein; 2 grams dietary fiber
Average cost for one recipe: $1.76
#brighterbites #freshproduce #fruits #vegetables #healthyeating #healthycooking #recipeoftheday #nationalspaghettiday
Happy Holidays from your Brighter Bites family! May your days be merry, healthy, and bright!
¡Felices Fiestas de su familia Brighter Bites! ¡Que sus días sean alegres, saludables y brillantes!
#happyholidays #brighterbites
It's Thankful Thursday, and we could not be more grateful for our Brighter Bites staff. Principal Franklin at Robert Gray Elementary said it so perfectly:
"Thank you again for another wonderful distribution day.
Thank you for making our families feel welcome and providing assistance with a smile.
Thank you for standing in the cold to make sure families are fed.
Thank you for all of the behind the scenes work no one knows about to make distribution days a success."
THANK YOU to all of our Brighter Bites programming staff for your dedication to serving our communities and bringing healthy foods and nutrition education to our families. Thank you! 👏🏽⭐
#brighterbites #ThankfulThursday #nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FreshProduce #fruit #vegetables
It’s National Brownie Day, and you better believe we are celebrating! 🤎 Our Un”Beet”able Brownies are perfectly tasty and nutritious! See the full recipe on our website!
www.brighterbites.org/recipe/unbeetable-brownies/
#brighterbites #nationalbrownieday #brownies #beets #recipeoftheday #healthyrecipe #healthybaking #freshproduce #fruits #vegetables
Tomorrow is International Volunteer Day, and we could not be more excited to highlight our incredible volunteers! 🎉 Volunteers are a crucial part of what we do, and are honored to have so many incredible people come alongside us in our mission. THANK YOU to all of our volunteers past an present. You really are one in a MELON! 🍉❤️
Interested in joining our mission? Sign up to volunteer on our website ➡️ www.brighterbites.org/volunteer
#brighterbites #volunteer #nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FreshProduce #fruit #vegetables #InternationalVolunteerDay
Houston friends!
Are you interested in being a part of what we do in the community? 🍎 We are looking for volunteers to help us box the produce that we distribute to our Brighter Bites families! 📦 🍌🍅🌽🥦 We have volunteer shifts available every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at the Houston Food Bank. There are limited spots available to ensure that everyone is safe and socially distanced. 6️⃣↔️ Please join us in our mission of creating communities of health through fresh food by bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to kids who need it most!
Sign up on our website ➡️ https://brighterbites.org/volunteer/
#brighterbites #volunteer #nonprofit #nutritioneducation #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables
This Giving Tuesday we are giving thanks to all of our partners, supporters, and friends who have supported us in making our program happen. This year has looked a little bit different, and yet the need has never been higher. With the support so many of you, we have been able to pivot and adapt during these circumstances and serve more families than ever.
• Through your generous giving, we have distributed 615,775 boxes of produce to our Brighter Bites families! This is a 53% increase in boxes distributed between 2019 and 2020.
• Your support has enabled us to give 12.9 MILLION POUNDS of fresh fruits and vegetables this year!! That is a 33% increase in pounds distributed between 2019 and 2020.
We could not reach so many families without the support of so many generous donors, produce partners, program partners, and more. THANK YOU on this Giving Tuesday for giving so much to our Brighter Bites community!
#brighterbites #givingtuesday #nonprofit #nutritioneducation #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables
Happy Thanksgiving from your Brighter Bites family! 🧡
Looking for some healthy recipes to cook this Thanksgiving?
From apples and Brussels sprouts to potatoes and sweet potatoes, we've got you covered! Before you grocery shop, be sure to look at our healthy holiday sides for some delicious and nutritious bites for the whole family!
• Apple Cake
• Crafty Mac 'n Cheese
• The Perfect Pear and Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Sautéed Brussels Sprouts w/ Apples and Pecans
• Sneaky Mashed Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Harvest Salad
And so many more recipes on our website made for YOU!
https://brighterbites.org/recipes/
#brighterbites #recipeoftheday #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables #healthyeating #healthycooking #thanksgivingrecipes #healthysides #JoyofFresh #HaveaPlant
This year, we are wishing you and your family a healthy and safe Thanksgiving. 🧡🍎🌽🍠🥔🥕We can all play a part in making sure our holidays are safe for everyone! The @cdcgov has provided some steps for us all to consider to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 this holiday season.
For more details about how you and your family can stay safe over the holiday, please see the full article here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html
Este año, te deseamos a usted y su familia un muy feliz y seguro Thanksgiving. 🧡🍎🌽🍠🥔🥕¡Entre todos podemos hacer nuestra parte para asegurar en tener unas fiestas seguras! @cdcgov ha dado unos consejos para que consideremos para prevenir la propagación del COVID-19 durante estas fiestas. Para mas detalles en como mantener fiestas seguras, por favor haga clic en este articulo: https://espanol.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/thanksgiving.html
Limes and peppers and pears. OH MY! 🍋 🌶️ 🍐
Have you seen our Brighter Bites boxes lately? This produce is GORGEOUS! Each week of programming we give our Brighter Bites families ~50 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. This fall, we are partnered with 114 schools across six cities...now that is a lot of produce!
#brighterbites #nonprofit #nutritioneducation #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables #healthyeating #healthycooking #JoyofFresh #HaveaPlant
“By giving kids access to fresh, nutritious food and showing them how to make the most of it, we help turn healthy habits into something even better: healthy lifestyles.” - Lisa Helfman, Founder
Brighter Bites is a nonprofit that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables directly into families’ hands. We teach them how to use it and track their behavior change. We make it fun. We make it free. And we make it happen via a simple, three-part formula: Produce Distribution + Nutrition Education + Fun Food Experience
This #ThankfulThursday we are so grateful for our Brighter Bites families and their loyalty in showing up to try new fruits and vegetables each week. Thank you, Brighter Bites families, for being a part of our community of health through fresh food!
#brighterbites #freshproduce #nonprofit #fruit #vegetables #healthyeating #healthycooking #HaveaPlant #JoyofFresh
November is National Pomegranate Month, and we love how this fruit makes everything pop💥 in color and flavor!
Check out our Popping Pomegranate Salsa🍐 and Sweet Potato Harvest Salad🍠🍎 recipes on our website for a taste of this delicious fruit during its peak season!
#brighterbites #BrighterBitesBrighterHomes #nationalpomegranatemonth #pomegranate #recipeoftheday #healthyrecipes #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables #healthyeating #healthycooking
We are beyond excited to partner with @goodfoods to "Sack Hunger"!🧡 During the 2020 college football season, Good Foods will contribute to Brighter Bites for each sack made by the Arkansas Razorbacks, Minnesota Gophers, and Wisconsin Badgers throughout each game. It is an honor to be a part of this partnership! 🏈🍎🍊🥑
#sackhunger #partnership #nonprofit #brighterbites #freshproduce #nutritioneducation
SPREAD the word! It's National Sandwich Day! 🥪
So, today we are sharing our favorite sandwich spread ➡️ Put-it-on-Anything Pesto. 🌿 We think you'll love it so much that you'll put it on anything! 😉
Full recipe below and up on our website! https://brighterbites.org/recipe/put-it-on-anything-pesto/
INGREDIENTS
• 7 cups of spinach
• ½ cup almonds, whole or crushed
• Juice of one lemon
• ¾ cup of leeks (white and pale green parts)
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp black pepper
DIRECTIONS
Thoroughly wash the leeks before using by slicing the leek and placing the sliced pieces into a bowl of water. Once the dirt is removed, dry the sliced leeks in a paper towel. Place the spinach, almonds, and lemon juice in the food processor. Process until finely chopped. Then, add all other ingredients and process until the pesto has a smooth texture. Serve as a spread on sandwiches, a sauce for pasta, a topping for grilled chicken, or as an appetizer with carrot sticks.
#brighterbites #BrighterBitesBrighterHomes #nationalsandwichday #pesto #recipeoftheday #healthyrecipes #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables #healthyeating #healthycooking
No tricks here! Just healthy treats! 🍇🍌🍍🍓
Our DC team dressed up this week as fruits and veggies while distributing fresh fruits and veggies to our families, and we can't think of a better treat than that!
Hope you have a safe and healthy Halloween!
#brighterbites #nonprofit #freshproduce #fruit #vegetables #healthyeating #healthytreats