News Type: Program Highlights

Sneaking a Peak into the Lives of One KIPP Sharp Family

Posted on February 27, 2015 by -

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As a Program Coordinator, and fellow food enthusiast, I’ve built relationships with our families which has inspired me to share Valerie and Sandra’s story.  I asked Valerie how she would describe Brighter Bites to someone who has never heard of it before.  She said, “Brighter Bites is a program that my school puts on every year so people can get [fruits and] vegetables for free and live a healthy lifestyle.”  Valerie totally gets it!  The families at KIPP Sharp have put our not-so-secret formula into practice for 2 years now: eating fresh produce, learning about nutrition, and sampling our recipes!  Sharing Valerie and Sandra’s story gives us a better understanding of one family’s journey to better health and wellness. Access to fresh produce is the most inspiring and stimulating part of the program, because it promotes an exchange of ideas.   When I talk to Sandra, it’s usually about what’s for dinner and it doesn’t matter if it’s butternut squash or making a relish to top off your baked fish.  Sandra has a wealth of knowledge about preparing dishes for her family.  It’s one of the reason’s she and Valerie were so excited to participate in Brighter Bites again this year; they see it as an opportunity to save money at the store all while having their favorite fresh foods at their fingertips.  When they open their Brighter Bites bags, they’re thrilled to see oranges, strawberries, and broccoli!  They’re also excited to see unfamiliar items, like rutabaga.  Trying new things is part of the fun and Sandra embraces the challenge. And what about the nutrition education component you ask?  Well, KIPP Sharp integrated CATCH into not only their P.E. class, but also their food service.  Valerie’s teacher shows them the difference between GO, SLOW, and WHOA foods in the cafeteria then gets them moving with activities and games out in the field.  CATCH strategically approaches wellness from a multiple angles to improve the students’ overall health. Let’s not forget the fun food samples.  Our smoothies are always a big hit with the kids, and Valerie is no different there.  Sandra likes the fruit salsas and salads we make, much like the broccoli and grape salad we cooked up this semester.  The families are so open, eager, and enthusiastic when it comes to trying our healthful recipes. The stories Valerie and Sandra tell about Brighter Bites illustrate how we affect them and their community.  Outsiders looking in gain a better understanding of what it means to be a Brighter Bites family too.  Their stories promote our mission and support the program.   More stories to come…

Munching, Chomping, and Chewing at Kashmere Gardens

Posted on February 20, 2015 by -

One of my greatest joys of the job is interacting with the kiddos at our schools.  During snack time at Kashmere Gardens Elementary, I have the opportunity to interact with many enthusiastic and adventurous students.  Every Thursday, these kids KNOW that Brighter Bites is in the building.  Just before dismissal, we slowly see students peeping their heads around the cafeteria door to see what snack Brighter Bites brought for them.  Then, all of the sudden, we are flooded with hungry kids curious to try our healthy creations.

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Tamishe with her grandmother Ruby who volunteers with us every week!

One of our kindergarten Brighter Biters, Tamishe, really loves to sample the snack.  Last week after trying our Lemon Basil White Bean Dip, she said, “I really like the dip and the food (bell peppers).”  She loves apples, oranges, peaches, carrots, and bell peppers too!  I was curious about how her mom cooks with the fruits and veggies they receive every week so Tameisha told me, “She makes vegetables!”  So, of course, I asked her if she eats ALL of the vegetables, and she exclaimed, “Yes!”  This is just one story of one student.  There are many more like her who have been meaningfully impacted by our fun food experience!  What a joy to see a kindergartener trying new vegetables, liking them, and being proud of it!

Training the Trainer

Posted on February 6, 2015 by -

molly at catch Last week, I attended a three-day training to implement the CATCH Kids Club Program. For those who do not know, CATCH is the Coordinated Approach to Child Heath. CATCH is rooted in the belief that a healthy environment can decrease the current obesity epidemic in children. Currently, schools incorporate CATCH into the curriculum through nutrition lessons in class, morning announcements, games in physical education and take-home information for parents. The CATCH Kids Club is a curriculum used at day cares, schools and YMCAs to ensure that CATCH objectives are incorporated into after school activities, too. Because CATCH and Brighter Bites are focused on fighting childhood obesity, it is crucial that teachers, coaches and counselors who work at our participating school be well trained in CATCH and also understand how to successfully run the Kids Club. The training academy provided three days of teaching, physical activity and fun. The instructor taught us simple techniques, exercises and transition games to keep kids moving and entertained for hours! I learned how to create an activity session (warm-up, activity, cool-down) designed to increase moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). My favorite part of the training was learning how to “CATCH-ify” modern children’s games. For example, I can now make kickball CATCH friendly by integrating the following elements into the game:  fun, full student participation, skill development, and 50% MVPA for the duration of the game. Health programs in after school centers are essential for maintaining a kid-friendly, healthful environment. Not only do these programs reinforce the impact of physical activity and healthy eating, but they also encourage children to work together and develop new skills. I’ve already provided training sessions to physical education teachers and after school program counselors! Who else is game?

A New Spring Semester is Blooming for Brighter Bites

Posted on February 3, 2015 by -

The weather may not feel quite like spring yet, but here in Dallas, Brighter Bites is gearing up for our first spring semester distributions! Uplift Williams and John Q. Adams Elementary, both outstanding participants in the Brighter Bites program, are first on the list to receive produce this week. We’re looking forward to seeing our families and the smiles that light up their faces when they pick up their Brighter Bites bags. The Dallas team worked hard over the break to make this our best semester yet! Jacqueline Noyola, one of our program coordinators, has been working with Alicia Farhat, our program manager, to translate the Brighter Bites website to Spanish. We think it’s important that all of our families benefit from the information on the site, no matter what language they speak. Meredith Spence, our community relations specialist, has been busy creating and growing new relationships throughout Dallas to spread the word about Brighter Bites. Our other program coordinator, Kristin Michalewicz, whipped up tons of yummy new recipes that will be debuting this spring. This week we’re excited to share a sweet potato dip that we think the families will find delectable. Spring 2015 Sweet Potato Dip Recipe 1 The Dallas team couldn’t be more excited to bring brighter choices to families again this spring. We’re ready to do some heavy lifting, get our hands dirty, and feed with impact!

Safety First Y’all

Posted on January 30, 2015 by -

Here at Brighter Bites we take safety very seriously. Whether you’re volunteering with us or just doing some yard work at home, it’s important for you to take care of yourself so you don’t get hurt. At Brighter Bites, we have to consider not only food safety, but also the safety of our volunteers. For example, lifting heavy boxes of potatoes  while bagging produce at one of our elementary schools could cause back strain if lifting the box is not executed properly. Making our program a success requires a heap of sweat equity from the community!  At the same time, being safe is also our responsibility. Here are a few tips from OSHA to keep in mind when lifting or moving heavy objects such as boxes or bags of produce: >Maintain neutral and straight spine alignment whenever possible. Usually, bending at the knees, not the waist, helps maintain proper spine alignment. >Materials that must be manually lifted should be placed at “power zone” height, about mid-thigh to mid-chest. >Keep your elbows close to your body and keep the load as close to your body as possible. >If you think something is too heavy for you, don’t try to lift it and ask for help.

Recruiting Fresh Families

Posted on January 27, 2015 by -

Here at Brighter Bites Dallas, we are always looking for opportunities to recruit new families to the program. On January 15th, the day Dallas ISD held parent/teacher conferences, we planted ourselves in the hallways at two of our current sites, Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary and C.F. Carr Elementary. We wanted to meet families who aren’t currently participating in Brighter Bites and remind those who are that produce distribution will start up again soon. We have great participation at these schools but we want to feed with even more impact when we get the chance. We set up shop with all of our usual Brighter Bites supplies, including a basket of crunchy, crispy apples and our nutrition handbooks, and talked with families about the program as they headed off to their meetings. families We are thrilled to announce that we recruited 50 new families for the spring semester at Jack Lowe Sr. Elementary! We also reconnected with several returning families and volunteers who are excited about the program starting again soon. At C.F. Carr Elementary, the kids were happy to see us – the apples were a huge hit and we gladly gave out seconds! The participating families and staff members are looking forward to more fresh produce this semester! We can’t wait to kick off the first spring distribution for Brighter Bites in Dallas. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces around the schools and remind our Brighter Biters that we’ll be back in a couple of weeks. See you soon!

Discovering CATCH-y New Ideas

Posted on January 20, 2015 by -

At Brighter Bites, we support our schools however we can. One of the ways we do that is ensuring students receive nutrition education by supporting our schools’ Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) programs. To learn more about the program, we visited Anne Frank Elementary, a school in North Dallas that excels at CATCH! Alice Ball and Chris Nichols, PE coaches at Anne Frank Elementary, have been instrumental in creating a CATCH environment at their school. They routinely identify Go, Slow, and Whoa foods to encourage healthy choices and use MVP to help create models of healthy behaviors: Move and stay active, Value healthy eating, and Practice healthy habits. Alice created some great bulletin boards to remind the students of CATCH’s key messages, including one with a contest to create the best original CATCH poem or rap! CATCH Alice suggested that we create a recipe challenge for our Brighter Bites schools to target the CATCH goal of “Value healthy eating.” Our families are always telling us about the creative ways they use the produce from Brighter Bites, so we hope a recipe challenge will inspire them to continue to create healthy dishes. Thanks to the administrators, teachers, and students at Anne Frank Elementary for sharing their exceptional CATCH ideas with us! We can’t wait to share more Dallas Brighter Bites success stories in future posts!

Brighter Bites {Houston} is Back in Action

Posted on January 19, 2015 by -

It’s that time again folks.  We’re excited to be back in action this spring!  We’ve been working on bunches and bushels of projects this winter to make this spring extra tasty.  Our resident wizard in the kitchen, Christina, is writing new recipes so prepare your taste buds for the culinary adventure they are about to take!  We should know.  We’ve been testing them on ourselves.  Would you have guessed that broccoli and grapes taste great together?  You’ll get to sample our snack and find out for yourself. The new and improved parent manual has arrived as well!  On top of being absolutely gorgeous, it’s fun and informative (look under ‘Tips & Tools’ soon to find a copy).  Chapters include Desserts Done Right and Making a Menu!  We want to give you the tools to make healthier decisions.  This includes NEW RECIPES!  Carrot Cake and Smoky Greens are a couple of our favorites.  Oh, and the Watermelon Refresher!  Who doesn’t love a cool beverage in the sweltering Texas summer? Nutrition Education We can’t contain our enthusiasm for what this semester might bring.  It’s a new growing season so we’ll get lots of different fruits and veggies that we didn’t have in the fall.  Broccoli, kale, pineapples, and strawberries are on our wish list! Did we mention that we have added a new school?!  The opportunity to share our message with new Brighter Biters is indescribably motivating. Can’t wait to start!

Follow us on Social Media

Posted on January 9, 2015 by -

Don’t miss a beet! Social Media is a great resource for communication.  Wondering what we’re up to? Finding out is as easy as looking at your phone or surfing the net.  We like to keep everyone in the loop whether it’s about our everyday activities or extracurricular events. Social Media is a great way to give us feedback and ask us questions too.  Help us make this program the best that it can be! It’s the digital age so be sure to #brighterbites and tag @BrighterBites in all your photos, comments, and posts whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube!  We want to see how you’re using your fruits and veggies.  It’s okay to brag about how yummy your dinner looks, especially when it’s packed with fresh produce.  In fact, we encourage it! You’ll also find useful cooking tips, meal ideas, and nutrition information on all our social media outlets. Let’s be social and build our online community together!

WE Over Me Farm Field Trip

Posted on January 6, 2015 by -

What happens when the Brighter Bites Dallas team gets a little break from Brighter Bites distributions? We go in search of more produce at a farm WITHIN the city limits of course! The Brighter Bites Dallas team took a fun field trip to Paul Quinn College to see how other members of the community are helping families get crunchy, crispy, colorful produce and nutrition education. BB Dallas Team 1 From left: Jacqueline Noyola, Alicia Farhat, Kristin Michalewicz, Meredith Spence We met up with Hannah Koski, Director of Farming Operation, to get a quick tour of the WE Over Me Farm, which took over the football field in March 2010. She showed us the fields where they grow the fresh fruits and veggies along with an awesome green house and their aquaponics system with tilapia. They even have a chicken coop where they can get fresh eggs! Farm The farm is maintained by students at the college and provides educational experiences for both students and members of the community. The farm has loads of exciting things happening and we are glad we got the chance to see how other people are impacting the community in such positive ways. We look forward to going back in the spring to get our hands dirty and help grow tasty produce!