News Type: Partner Highlights

Brighter Bites Expands Impact in NYC with Guru Krupa Foundation Grant

Posted on March 12, 2025 by -

Brighter Bites NYC is proud to be a first-time grant recipient of the Guru Krupa Foundation, receiving $25,000 to support our mission of bringing fresh produce and nutrition education to families. Since receiving the grant, we have served 4,622 families across 17 schools in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Queens, and distributed over 422,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, including blackberries, mangoes, avocados, plantains, and winter squash. The grant also supports our ability to engage students with in-class nutrition education lessons and empower parents through healthy eating discussions and hands-on culinary demonstrations.

With the support of the Guru Krupa Foundation, Brighter Bites NYC is on track to serve 8,600 students and 6,500 families by the end of the grant period. Families are not only receiving nutritious food, they are gaining the knowledge and skills to make lifelong healthy choices. As we continue our mission, we look forward to increasing our impact and building healthier communities across New York City.

Brighter Bites receives generous donation from Sun Orchard

Posted on October 30, 2024 by -

Brighter Bites received a $25,000 donation from Sun Orchard, a leading developer and manufacturer of all-natural citrus based ingredient and beverage products, servicing market leaders across the foodservice, specialty industrial and club channels.

“Sun Orchard is proud to support Brighter Bites’ mission of providing healthy food to children. Their dedication to childhood nutrition aligns perfectly with our company values,” Jeff DeBoer, chief commercial officer at Sun Orchard. “Through this collaboration, we hope to make a positive impact on families in need.”

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Sunkist Growers Partners With Brighter Bites to Promote Healthier Eating Habits Among Children and Families; Jamie Sells and Rich Dachman Comment

Posted on October 2, 2024 by -

VALENCIA, CA – Sunkist Growers and Brighter Bites have a common interest—they both aim to instill healthy eating habits and improve the well-being of consumers at home. The two organizations recently entered a strategic partnership in which Sunkist® will donate premium oranges, easy-peel Mandarins, and other in-season citrus to Brighter Bites programs in Bakersfield, California.

“At Sunkist, we are passionate about delivering fresh, nutritious citrus to communities that need it most,” said Jamie Sells, Vice President of Sales, Sunkist. “By joining forces with Brighter Bites, we’re able to directly support children and families in Bakersfield with fresh fruit access, inspiring healthy habits that can last a lifetime.”

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Wish Farms’ Amber Maloney Details Consumer Giveaway and Charity Donation: “Pick-A-Berry, Pick-A-Cause”

Posted on August 22, 2024 by -

PLANT CITY, FL – Wish Farms is championing this campaign for the third year in a row. The $10,000 charitable, give-back consumer campaign, “Pick-A-Berry, Pick-A-Cause” will be divided among three organizations: Brighter Bites, Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA), and Tunnel to Towers.

“This campaign has been a resounding success over the last couple of years. Not only have we expanded our audience with 30,000+ new Berry Lover email signups, but we are also bringing awareness to great causes to spread the ‘Feel Good’ message that is so important to our company,” remarked Director of Marketing Amber Maloney. “We are very excited to see how much this year builds on our past success!”

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Brighter Bites Raises $25,000 with Lakeview Farms During IDDBA’S 60th Show Peppers with a Purpose

Posted on June 21, 2024 by -

We partnered with Lakeview Farms, a leading manufacturer of refrigerated desserts, dips, salsa, hummus and specialty products, to host “Peppers with a Purpose” at IDDBA’s 60th tradeshow to raise funds and awareness for the nonprofit’s mission. The event included a spinning wheel of different peppers ranging from mild to hot, which each participant had to spin the wheel and take a bite of the pepper selected. Additionally, the hotter the pepper, the more money that was raised for Brighter Bites, which totaled $25,000 at the end of the event. “To support Brighter Bites, we invited hundreds of individuals to our booth at the Houston IDDBA show, to join us in raising funds,” said Tom Davis, CEO of Lakeview Farms. “Fresh and healthy food is our world and raising $25,000 to put fresh food into the homes of people who need it most, is meaningful to us. We’re proud to partner with Brighter Bites!” Furthermore, Fresh Cravings, Rojo’s and La Mexicana Salsa – brands under the Lakeview Farms parent company – highlighted the “Salsabrate The Good” campaign, which shares the stories of like-minded organizations in communities served to make a positive impact together. Brighter Bites was featured in one of the videos, showcasing its mission to support under-resourced communities by providing fresh produce and nutrition education. Click HERE to view the video. “Partnerships like the one we’ve created with Lakeview Farms and their brands enables our work to come to life and get fresh food into the hands of children and families faster than if we were doing it alone,” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites. “At the end of the day, it’s all about the industry working together to better the eating habits and consumption of fresh food among consumers, and we are so grateful to be doing this work with Lakeview Farms.”

Brighter Bites named a MyPlate National Strategic Partner

Posted on February 13, 2024 by -

Fresh produce nonprofit organization Brighter Bites has become a National Strategic Partner for MyPlate.

Brighter Bites joins other retailers, restaurants, suppliers and media outlets that have partnered with MyPlate to support the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans and help consumers across the country develop healthy lifestyles.

“We are proud to be a partner of an organization that not only matches our mission but also reaches so many families and individuals nationwide with an approachable guide to healthy eating,” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites. “As we continue to grow our program and reach more families nationwide, we are honored to be surrounded by so many other companies with similar goals. What an exciting and impactful group to join!”

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COVID-19 Update from Brighter Bites

Posted on March 20, 2020 by -

 

Dear Friends,

We are all witnessing and living through one of the most challenging times in modern history.

Like all of you, Brighter Bites is adapting to the new reality brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.

Our number one priority is the health and well-being of our employees and the families and communities we serve. For that reason, we are following protocols to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

 

 

Brighter Bites understands that families need fresh, nutrient-rich food to keep them healthy, and we are making every effort to find distribution mechanisms to ensure they receive it.

While the schools we partner with are closed, Brighter Bites is working with community stakeholders to develop alternative opportunities for distributing produce to families in the cities where we operate.

 

 

We are also working with our produce partner suppliers to redirect donated produce to our local food banks and working with our supply chain to help continue that process moving forward.When we aren’t able to distribute fresh produce, we are making nutrition education and healthy recipes available to our families electronically to help them make the most of the food they do have while they are at home with their children. You can access healthy recipes here and tips and tools for cooking at home here.

Here are some examples of how Brighter Bites is supporting our communities this week:

 

Our Southwest Florida team distributed fresh produce to more than 500 families at the Bethel Assembly of God in Immokalee, FL with the help of so many community partners. Harry Chapin Food Bank, Southern Specialties, Freedom Fresh, and B&W Quality Growers collectively donated 12 different produce items. The Blue Zones Project in SWFL donated reusable bags. Collier County Schools and the Benison Center made the event possible.

 

Staff and volunteers in Austin packed 830 bags of fresh fruits and vegetables for families whose children attend Cook, T.A. Brown, and Harris Elementary Schools in Austin ISD. Thanks to Hardie’s Fresh Food for their incredible support during this challenging time.

 

At PS 151Q in Woodside, Queens we provided 300+ Brighter Bites families and local community members with 4,586lbs of organic grapes, oranges, and pantry bags pre-packed by our incredible partners at City Harvest. 

 

We are living in a rapidly changing environment and in the coming weeks we’ll be making our best efforts to identify ways to regularly support our families with fresh, healthy foods and nutrition education alongside our local food banks and city partners. Above all else, the health and safety of our employees, families and communities will remain our focus.

Brighter Bites is grateful for the continued support and understanding from our families, partners, donors, supporters, and stakeholders. As uncertain as things are, we know we will get through this by working together.

We wish you and your family good health and safety as we navigate the coming weeks.

Yours sincerely,
The Brighter Bites Team

Families Have a Blast with Rockit® Apples

Posted on February 17, 2020 by -

Brighter Bites families in Austin and Dallas Texas love the Rockit® apples donated by Chelan Fresh. They will be receiving them all semester long and we don’t think they’ll be able to get enough! Check out the photos of these kids and their parents (and maybe even some of our Brighter Bites staffers!) having fun with these adorable apples. We’ve heard nothing but rave reviews of this tiny little fruit that’s loaded with flavor. Dare we say Rockit® apples are taking off?!