Spectrum News Austin visited Brighter Bites at Uphaus Early Childhood Center in Austin, TX to get a taste of what our program is all about. Check out the feature segment, which aired on September 23, here.
The Naples Daily News recently featured Brighter Bites in a report on health disparities in Southwest Florida, where Brighter Bites is working to improve access to fresh produce for low income families. Read the article to learn about Southwest Florida’s food desert issue and how Brighter Bites is fighting back by creating communities of health through fresh food.
Brighter Bites talked to Civil Eats about our three-part formula: Produce Distribution + Nutrition Education + Fun Food Experience. There has been new research indicating that learning to cook at a young age can lead to a healthier and better life in the future! Learn more about it here!
Pasadena Library is now a Brighter Bites site! Listen to what Brighter Bites Senior Program Director Mike Pomeroy and Program Director Emily Kelly have to say have to say about our fun, free, and simple, three-part formula: Produce Distribution + Nutrition Education + Fun Food Experience. Check it out here!
Brighter Bites Founder Lisa Helfman was recently featured in a brand new podcast by The Produce Moms Founder and CEO Lori Taylor. The two like-minded produce entrepreneurs had a fantastic discussion about the origins of Brighter Bites, how fresh produce empowers people to take control of their health, and how demystifying produce is key to behavioral change.
During their talk, Lisa explained the goal of Brighter Bites, saying “we want to make impact on two levels — we want to impact each family that we touch individually and change their behavior, and then we also want to change the whole conversation on [produce] equalling health, so people really understand that it matters what they put in their mouths, and that they can live healthier lives just by doing those simple things like eating apples or kale.”
The Produce Moms is a community of passionate fresh produce advocates with a mission to inspire everyone, especially children, to eat more fruits and vegetables. The Produce Moms educates consumers about fresh produce, introduces them to produce brands, engages the produce industry with consumers in inspiring conversations, and promotes public policy to protect and increase the availability of fresh produce at American schools.
During May, The Produce Moms partnered with #GiveHealthy to host a produce drive benefiting Brighter Bites.
Listen to the fruitful discussion here!
The Produce Retailer, a leading source for news on produce operations, reported on Brighter Bites’ expansion to Southwest Florida and our new partnerships with Harry Chapin Food Bank and Lipman Family Farms. Read their coverage here.
The Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center shines a weekly spotlight on community organizations that are making an impact on the lives of New Yorkers through food equity, access, education, and sustainability through the Food Policy Community Spotlight Series. Brighter Bites was recently featured. Click here to learn more about our impact on New York and across the nation.
The Packer, a leading source for news, information, and analysis in the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, shared the details of Brighter Bites’ recent launch in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Read the full story here.
“Coastal Cos., Food Bank Partner with Brighter Bites in D.C.
By Daniel Vanderhorst
May 2, 2018
Capital Area Food Bank and The Coastal Cos. Foundation are partnering with nonprofit Brighter Bites to launch school-based programs giving families increased exposure to fresh produce in Prince George’s County, Md.
The new program aims to foster healthy eating habits by giving low-income children and their families fresh fruit and vegetables along with nutrition education materials.
“We know that food habits form early, and that those habits can impact health and well-being for life,” said Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank, Washington, D.C., in the release.
“We’re committed to working with our community’s schools to get good food — especially fruits and vegetables — into the hands of kids and families, which is why we’re excited by the Brighter Bites model and eager to see the impact that this partnership will have in Prince George’s County and beyond.”
The Brighter Bites programs will run in schools this spring and summer, distributing 80,000 pounds of produce and lots of nutrition education materials to 500 families and teachers at William Paca Elementary School, Cool Spring Elementary and several summer camps in Prince George’s County, according to the release.
Capital Area Food Bank and The Coastal Cos. Foundation will supply thousands of pounds of fresh produce, including warehousing and transportation services to support the initiative.
“When we learned that Brighter Bites was coming to the Washington, D.C., area, we knew right away it would be the ideal partnership for The Coastal Cos. Foundation,” Micah Brown, president of East Coast Fresh and executive director of The Coastal Cos. Foundation, said in the release. “Brighter Bites’ desire to provide kids and families with access to fresh, healthy food aligns perfectly with our Foundation’s mission to nourish our community.”
As part of the Brighter Bites program, parents and community volunteers pack bags of fresh produce items for families and teachers to take home free each week during three eight-week sessions. Each two-bag set has about 50 servings of eight to 12 different produce items, according to the release.
Prince George’s County is the sixth Brighter Bites program to launch after Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City and southwest Florida.
The Coastal Cos. Foundation, established in 2012, coordinates the giving of The Coastal Cos. businesses: Coastal Sunbelt Produce, East Coast Fresh and Cold Chain Logistics.”
AndNowUKnow, an online news media company, reported on Brighter Bites’ partnerships with Lipman Family Farms and the Harry Chapin Food Bank upon our expansion to Southwest Florida. Read their coverage below and click here for the full story.
Fri. April 27th, 2018
By Kayla Webb
FORT MYERS, FL – Lipman Family Farms is setting its sights on what it can do to increase exposure to fresh fruits and vegetables for families in underserved communities. Teaming up with Harry Chapin Food Bank and Brighter Bites, a nonprofit organization that helps create communities of health through fresh food, Lipman Family Farms is launching school-based programs to encourage healthy eating by providing fresh produce, nutrition education materials, support of in-class education, and healthy recipes to families in South Florida.
Jaime Weisinger, Director of Community Relations and Government Relations, Lipman Family Farms“Over the past couple of years, Lipman Family Farms has donated tomatoes to Brighter Bites programs in Houston, Dallas, and Austin, and we’ve been proud of our association with the program and its impact on so many lives,” said Jaime Weisinger, Director of Community Relations and Government Relations, Lipman Family Farms. “When there was an opportunity to bring the program to Southwest Florida, we jumped at the chance. Brighter Bites fits every part of our philanthropy strategy, and we’re thrilled to be donating even more produce to Brighter Bites right here in our own backyard.”
According to Feeding America, nearly 40,000 individuals in Collier County, 36 percent of whom are children, lack consistent access to nutritionally adequate food. To remedy that, Brighter Bites is running programs this spring and summer that will provide more than 75,000 pounds of produce and thousands of pieces of nutrition education materials to over 600 families and teachers at Lake Trafford Elementary School, Eden Park Elementary School, and the Boys and Girls Club in the Collier County School District. Lipman Family Farms and Harry Chapin Food Bank are supporting the initiative and doing their part by donating thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and veggies, warehousing, and transportation services.
Samuel Newman, Executive Director, Brighter Bites“Local partnerships are critical to the success of our organization and the impact we have on the communities where we work,” said Samuel Newman, Executive Director of Brighter Bites. “We could not be happier to be partnering with two of the most trusted organizations in the region.”
Within the initiative, a simple formula is used to introduce healthy lifestyles to families that includes produce distribution, nutrition education, and encouraging families to sample delicious and fun recipes. Parents and community volunteers also pack bags of fresh fruits and veggies for families and teachers to take home each week over the course of three eight-week sessions. Each free two-bag set contains approximately 50 servings of 12 different produce items.
Richard LeBer, President and CEO, Harry Chapin Food Bank“Many hungry families struggle to eat healthy food on a budget. Teaching them how to do that is an important priority for us,” said Richard LeBer, President and CEO of Harry Chapin Food Bank. “That’s why we’re very excited to bring Brighter Bites’ effective programs to Southwest Florida.”
According to a press release, research shows the Brighter Bites model provides consistent opportunities for children and their families to practice healthier behaviors in school and at home, with 98 percent of parents reporting their children eating more fruits and vegetables thanks to the Brighter Bites program and 74 percent maintaining that increased level of consumption after the program ends. Children and parents participating in Brighter Bites also reported:
Since launching in 2012, Brighter Bites has distributed more than 16 million pounds of produce and over 100,000 nutrition education materials to 40,000 familiesthrough elementary schools, preschools, and summer camps. Southwest Florida is the sixth Brighter Bites program to launch after Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
For more news like this, stay tuned to AndNowUKnow.
Brighter Bites recently launched our program in Southwest Florida. Reporters from the Naples Herald went to one of our schools to cover our arrival to Immokalee. Check out their story below!
“Brighter Bites Seeking to Bring Vegetables and Healthy Eating Habits to SWFL Families”
By: Jordan Hester
April 26, 2018
Vegetables are often one of those difficulties in childhood, ask many parents, it’s hard enough to get kids to eat them. But it’s worse when you realize how many families lack the ability to have that problem in the first place. Brighter Bites is changing that one school at a time. And now they’ve arrived in Immokalee.
“We used to do produce co-oping at home years ago, but the turning point was honestly when my then six-year-old told me he didn’t want to eat the cake at a birthday party, he wanted to ask them if they had some fruit instead,” Lisa Helfman, founder of Brighter Bites said. “It was really life changing for us, merely having access to fresh fruits and vegetables, so I started Brighter Bites to give people that chance.”
On Wednesday, families cycled in and out of Eden Park Elementary in Immokalee, several pounds of produce for each family, all locally grown. Even the staff operates like a family, keeping each other in high spirits and raising each other up. It was the second of two distributions they did in Immokalee this week.
Starting in the Houston, Texas area, they expanded to nearly 50 schools in that state, including some in Dallas and Austin. They’ve got places in Prince Georges County, in Maryland, a suburb of the nation’s capital. They’ve even been distributing food in the Bronx.
98 percent of Brighter Bites parents report their children eating more fruits and vegetables while participating in the Brighter Bites program. Of those, 74 percent said they maintained that increased level of consumption after Brighter Bites ended. This is important because it stays with the kids to adulthood, the health part of it as well as the ready acceptance of more produce in a diet.
The plan is to have five schools in Collier by the end of next school year and start expanding throughout Florida.
“We’ve given out 16 million pounds of food to date, not including our time in Immokalee,” Stefanie Cousins, the Director of Marketing and Communications said. “Which is no small feat considering how many families that actually feeds.”
They’ve partnered with Lipman Family Farms, a massive family owned farm system based in Immokalee that has locations in multiple states, and the Harry Chapin Food Bank locally. These partnerships are crucial to Brighter Bites ease of moving food and making sure families have access to what they need.
Education is just as important to access, so they also prepare easy and fun ways to prepare all of their produce, be it through pickling or simple additions to other staple meals.
They do extensive research after every event, trying to keep up with their bases as well as can be expected, through e-mail and some exit surveying.
“Food security is a dangerous statistic, and it’s not like I’m preaching to people that they have to eat vegetables, we’re just doing our best to give people access to them,” Helfman said “It was eye opening how nearly impossible it is to get fresh produce outside of the Houston Metro, and a lot of it goes to waste because some families have never cooked with it before, so why would they buy it?” ”
Read the full article here.