Brighter Bites Makes a Splash at APHA!

Brighter Bites Co-Founder Dr. Shreela Sharma presented the findings from her recently-published research on the impact of Brighter Bites to a full house in Denver last week at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Sharma’s presentation stirred up tremendous interest in Brighter Bites. So much so that the Brighter Bites staff in attendance was inundated with interest from people around the country who want to bring the program to their cities!

Brighter Bites was featured in a number of other presentations, including a Brighter Bites Photovoice study presented by Dr. Sharma and a poster presentation by Dr. Ru-Jye (Lindi) Chuang, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at UTHealth School of Public Health, and Gregory Bounds, Brighter Bites Director of Analytics about the Health Eating Active Living (HEAL) program administered by UTPhysicians.

The HEAL program at UT is for women who are pregnant or who have an infant and would like to embrace a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their baby. HEAL includes weekly cooking and exercise classes, breastfeeding support, and fresh produce and nutrition education materials to take home every week through the Brighter Bites program and Legacy of Health.

One special treat worth noting was a round table discussion led by APHA President Dr. Georges Benjamin with participation by four CDC Directors, including current CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, and the last three CDC Directors Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dr. Jeffrey Koplan, and Dr. David Satcher. These public health leaders discussed the most exciting and challenging times during their tenure as well as what they believe are the most pressing public health issues to tackle right now including the epidemic of opiate overdoses, Zika virus prevention, investment in public health, an HIV vaccine, and a global public health strategy.

The Brighter Bites staff who attended APHA was immersed in public health sessions and well as public health partners. They connected with friends from CATCH, Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, Sustainable Food Center, and other partner organizations who were presenting at the event. Overall, a great time was had by all who attended.