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.
Brighter Bites COVID-19 Update on Nationwide Efforts
Keyword/Tag: Houston
Press Release: Brighter Bites Receives $50,000 Grant from The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation
Support will impact nationwide programming, expansion in Houston and Dallas, TX.
Houston, TX (March 12, 2020) – As part of its commitment to creating healthier communities free of hunger and waste, The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has directed a $50,000 grant to Brighter Bites to support expanding access to fresh produce and nutrition education in underserved communities across the U.S. The grant will support Brighter Bites’ program implementation nationwide, as well as program expansion in two Kroger communities—Houston and Dallas.
“Brighter Bites is thankful to The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation for its generous support and commitment to addressing the relationship between food insecurity and waste in our communities,” said Brighter Bites CEO Rich Dachman. “Through this partnership, Brighter Bites will be able to redirect more produce into the hands of those that need it—mitigating food waste while feeding and teaching healthier habits to the families we serve.”
While an estimated 10% of the U.S. population has poor access to fresh foods, 40% of the U.S. supply chain of fruits and vegetables goes to waste every year, costing $218 billion annually to grow, process, transport and dispose of food that is never eaten.
Embedded within the Brighter Bites formula is the implicit mitigation of food waste. By increasing the recovery of produce from growers, distributors, and food banks, and reducing food waste at the consumer level by teaching families how to use it, Brighter Bites is working to convert food waste into a public health opportunity.
“The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is excited to partner with Brighter Bites to expand their program,” said Sunny Reelhorn Parr, executive director of The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation. “We celebrate their dedication to education and outreach efforts, and we look forward to working with their innovative team to help achieve our mission of creating communities free of hunger and waste.”
Brighter Bites’ partnership with The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation will also include volunteer support from Kroger associates at Brighter Bites program sites in Houston and Dallas. This school year, the organization is projected to enroll more than 30,000 children and their families across 133 schools and 48 summer camps in eight cities.
This story was published in the following publications:
Lisa Helfman and Brighter Bites Cookbook Featured on KPRC in Houston
Brighter Bites Founder Lisa Helfman appeared on Houston NBC affilate KPRC on Saturday, December 14 to talk about the new Brighter Bites Cookbook and share a few recipes with the host and audience. Check out the video here!
Press Release: Brighter Bites Receives 2019 Seeds of Hope Award
HOUSTON, TX (NOVEMBER 25, 2019) – Last week, Brighter Bites, the Houston-based nonprofit that provides families and teachers in underserved communities with fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education, received the RESULTS Houston Seeds of Hope Award, bestowed annually to an honoree who is making a meaningful impact in the work to end poverty.
Brighter Bites provides free fresh produce in underserved communities around the U.S. with the goal of changing behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. Brighter Bites Co-founders Lisa Helfman and Dr. Shreela Sharma started the organization in Houston in 2012, providing fourth grade families at one elementary school with fresh produce, nutrition education, and a fun food experience when they picked up their produce each week. Since then, Brighter Bites has provided more than 24 million pounds of fresh produce and 100,000s of nutrition education materials to more than 50,000 families in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area, and Southwest Florida.
“Brighter Bites is mission aligned with RESULTS in that we are all trying to empower families in need by planting ‘seeds of hope’ to improve their health and lives,” said Shreela Sharma, PhD, co-founder of Brighter Bites and professor of epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health. “We are greatly humbled and honored to receive this award.”
The Houston chapter of RESULTS, a non-partisan advocacy group that supports a movement of passionate, committed volunteers who use their voices to influence political decisions that will end poverty, typically gathers 150 people from the Houston area to attend a fundraising dinner the chapter has been hosting for close to 20 years. In past years, the featured speakers have included a range of individuals working to end poverty including Professor Muhammad Yunus. The 2019 speaker was William Moore, the executive director of the Eleanor Crook Foundation, which works on global nutrition.
“We are thrilled and grateful to receive this honor,” said Brighter Bites CEO Rich Dachman. “This prestigious award will further motivate us to continue to dedicate ourselves to getting produce into the homes of families who need it, teaching them how to use it, and helping improve their eating habits so they can lead healthier lives.”
Dr. Sharma and Mr. Dachman received the award on behalf of Brighter Bites at the gala on Friday, November 22 in Houston.
This exciting milestone for Brighter Bites was also reported by the following publications:
The Produce News
And Now U Know
The Packer
Behind the Scenes in Houston, TX!
Meet the team creating communities of health through fresh food in Houston.
Brighter Bites in Houston, TX
Brighter Bites was born in Houston, TX in 2012, when Co-Founders Lisa Helfman and Dr. Shreela Sharma introduced a new nutrition education program to a KIPP elementary school in an underserved part of the city. What came next was a program that grew to create communities of health across the country and introduced thousands of families to the great variety of nutritious produce items that they would learn to incorporate into their everyday lives.
Brighter Bites still operates in Houston, now at a record 45 school sites, where it serves approximately 8,900 families and 1,700 teachers. The team is gearing up for the summer season, when it will participate with 16 sites to provide produce distribution, nutrition education, and a fun food experience to about 600 families.
If it’s hard to picture how far spread out the the Houston team’s effort is, take a look at this map of the 2018-2019 programming sites.
As the first Brighter Bites city, Houston has paved the way for the growth of Brighter Bites to five other locations across the country, often serving as the testing grounds for new programming developments. The Houston staff has developed strong relationships with partners, school communities, and with one another. The team comes together from many different backgrounds and walks of life, but the love for helping others through fresh food unites the team and makes it a warm, supportive community – like a second-family to many members of the team.
The Houston team works in close proximity to some of the Brighter Bites national team members, enjoying collaboration on projects, the occasional coffee date, and participating in local events together.
Brighter Bites Houston partners closely with the Houston Food Bank (HFB), sharing office space at the HFB facility in northeast Houston and teaming up in a variety of ways. For example, Brighter Bites works with Sarah McIntire of the HFB procurement team every week to learn about available produce items that Brighter Bites can use for produce distribution. The HFB volunteer productions team helps to secure space each week where Brighter Bites staff and volunteers prepare recipe samples (special thanks to Averi Edwards). The HFB warehouse team (shoutout to Korina Sanchez, Vicente Cortez, and Erica Mendoza) build produce pallets that HFB truck drivers deliver to Brighter Bites sites all around Houston.
Outside of the HFB, Brighter Bites also partners with organizations like the Pasadena Vibrant Community, which is an initiative of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center made possible by an investment from and collaboration with Shell Oil Company. The mission of the Pasadena Vibrant Community is to mobilize Pasadena to promote health and wellness in the community.
Brighter Bites works with a variety of players in the produce industry across the country. The success of the program depends on the generosity and expertise of these organizations and their employees, from produce donations to produce delivery. Foremost among these players are the Houston Food Bank and Sysco Freshpoint, who are invaluable partners of the Brighter Bites program in Houston. In addition to produce donations and general operational support from the Houston Food Bank, Brighter Bites relies on Sysco Freshpoint for logistics and produce supplier connections.
Additionally, Brighter Bites Houston receives regular donations from produce suppliers across the country, including Taylor Farms Mexico, The Garlic Company, and Monterey Miushrooms. The program receives occasional produce donations from Tanimura & Antle, D’Arrigo Bros. California, Sunkist, Mann Packing, ProSource, Dole, and Church Brothers, and produce at low cost from Village Farms, Lipman Family Farms, and Hardie’s.
The partnerships that make Brighter Bites such a success also include the communities across the city of Houston that make the program a priority in their schools. These partners include Houston ISD, Pasadena ISD, Aldine ISD, Alief ISD, and Brazosport ISD. These school districts and their schools support Brighter Bites by helping to create excitement about fresh food in their schools and encourage students, their parents and teachers to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their lives.
Brighter Bites has worked with nine school districts since the program’s inception. The staff has learned over the years how to adjust Brighter Bites in small ways to fit each community and developed close relationships with the volunteers, families, and staff. Even after produce bagging for the day is complete, volunteers will stick around to engage in a conversation about how everyone plans to use their produce for the week and how they use the last week’s produce. Some volunteers will even bring dishes for the Brighter Bites staff to taste that use produce distributed the previous week.
Volunteers will share pictures from their produce-inspired meals with fellow volunteers, helping spark each others’ culinary imaginations. The team is always so heartened hearing volunteers share their excitement for fresh food and for the memories they’ll share preparing the food with their families. For more heartwarming anecdotes from the Houston program, click here (hint: the cutest mini volunteers make an appearance).
Brighter Bites is so lucky to have a dedicated team in Houston that works hard to create communities of health through fresh food in every Houston community!
Houston Staff Spotlight
The Brighter Bites staff in Houston worked together this past spring to serve 8,900 families at 45 sites across the city. The Houston team — the largest in the organization – has a diverse educational background, but they all share a passion for health, food, and service. Read a bit below about the incredible staff that comes together each day to create communities of health in Houston.
Program Director
The Houston team is led by Program Director Emily Kelley, who joined Brighter Bites in 2013 as an Americorps VISTA volunteer before becoming a permanent member and leader of the team. She’s seen Brighter Bites grow from its infancy in Houston into the national program that it is today. The Houston team is so lucky to have her leadership!
Emily is supported by two program managers who have collectively served nine years with Brighter Bites and nine program coordinators, who’ve served a combined 22 years! Learn some fun facts about each member of the team below:
Program Managers
Lani Alcazar is passionate about community work and has a special affinity for nutrition and child health. Lani earned her master’s degree in public health at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston before joining the Brighter Bites team.
Molly Oyetunji grew up in Houston with a love for food and cooking that later translated into a passion for chemistry and nutrition. Molly loves sharing nutrition education information and changing children’s lives one Brighter Bites bag at a time. Molly recently had a daughter, Olivia, and hopes to pass on to her a love of healthy food!
Program Coordinators
Michael Carpenter began working with Brighter Bites as a Mission Year intern during the 2015-2016 academic year. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest with its abundance of local fresh fruit, Michael enjoys working to ensure kids in Houston have access to fresh fruit just like he did growing up in Washington.
Jacqueline Castro has a background in health education and uses her passion for nutrition education everyday at Brighter Bites to expose young children to fresh produce and to help build lifelong healthy habits.
Katie Degen loves educating individuals about nutrition and is a rockstar at making nutrition fun for Brighter Bites families.
Jackie Delagarza was born and raised in Houston and became passionate about nutrition education during college. Jackie enjoys playing an active role in educating Houston communities about all aspects of health and nutrition through Brighter Bites.
Jonathan Gerescher‘s passion for the nonprofit sector and serving his community began with Houston’s Discovery Green Conservatory and has since flourished into full-time dedication to help kids build lifelong healthy habits through Brighter Bites.
Thelma Green‘s background in community health and youth outreach in underserved communities has led her to pursue her passion for helping Houston’s young children and their families blossom one bright bite at a time. P.S. Thelma is the Houston team’s resident Zumba leader!
Tanya Reyes knew from a young age that she wanted to make a difference by helping others create a healthy relationship with food. She developed an after school nutrition education outreach program and taught child-focused cooking classes even before joining Brighter Bites!
Samantha Rodriguez came to Brighter Bites with a communications background in the natural foods industry and a passion for promoting healthy eating habits. She loves being a part of Brighter Bites and helping to provide families with produce and nutrition education to support healthy lifestyles!
Jessica Schauman explored the social effects of economic segregation and the influence of nutrition education on children’s health during her undergraduate coursework. She loves doing her part to make an impact on the community with the rest of the Houston team.
The Houston team also includes a group of hardworking program associates who join Brighter Bites part-time during the busiest times of the year. They make it possible for Brighter Bites to serve so many different Houston communities.
The Houston team offices in close proximity to some of the members of the Brighter Bites national team, which supports the growth of Brighter Bites across the country. Keep your eyes peeled for an overview of all the amazing staff who make up the Brighter Bites national team.
Thanks to all the Houston staff members for all that they do to create communities of health through fresh food!
Avocado Nation!
Explore photos from Brighter Bites programs across the country as we celebrated our Spring 2019 Avocado Week. Holy guacamole, do we have some great snaps!
Special thanks to Avocados From Mexico and Del Monte Fresh!
Media Release: Halliburton Charitable Foundation Funds Brighter Bites Expansion in Houston
Houston, TX (November 9, 2018) – Halliburton Charitable Foundation has selected Houston-based nonprofit Brighter Bites as one of 26 organizations to receive more than $3.3 million raised by 440 golfers and 150 sponsors at The Clubs of Kingwood on October 24.
Brighter Bites tackles childhood obesity by providing low-income families with free fresh produce and nutrition education. Support from the Halliburton Charitable Foundation provides the necessary tools to build internal capacity for Brighter Bites to add one more Houston-area school district to the four Brighter Bites already delivers programming to in the region.
“Brighter Bites provide a tremendous service for families, and we are so glad to be able to help those in the communities where Halliburton employees live and work,” said Susanna Sabbagh, President, Halliburton Charitable Foundation. “We value the opportunity to build an on-going relationship with Brighter Bites, through meaningful volunteer opportunities for our employees, as well as through funding support.”
The 24th annual Halliburton Charity Golf Tournament raised more than $3.3 million for nonprofit organizations across Houston and the U.S., the highest amount raised since the tournament first teed-off over 20 years ago. To date, the tournament has raised over $19 million. This is the second time Brighter Bites has been selected by the Halliburton Charitable Foundation, having received funds raised by the golf tournament in 2017.
“Expansion within Houston by adding Johnson Elementary School, located on Houston’s north side, is a boon to our Houston program,” said Brighter Bites Executive Director Samuel Newman. “Thanks to the generosity of Halliburton Charitable Foundation, Brighter Bites has entered Aldine ISD for the first time, serving roughly 150 families to start and reaching a whole new area of the city where a program like ours will have a significant impact.”
Each week families and teachers participating in Brighter Bites receive two bags containing approximately 50 servings of eight to 12 different fresh produce items along with the nutritional educational materials. Since launching in 2012, Brighter Bites has distributed more than 18 million pounds of produce and hundreds of thousands of nutrition education materials to 265,000 individuals from more than 40,000 families through schools and summer camps in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Southwest Florida. Brighter Bites uses a simple formula for introducing healthy lifestyles to families: produce distribution, nutrition education, and a fun food experience that includes sampling a recipe of the week to see just how great produce can taste.
Brighter Bites measures the outcomes of its program to determine impact. Research shows the Brighter Bites model provides consistent opportunities for children and their families to practice healthier behaviors in school and at home:
- 98% of Brighter Bites parents report their children eating more fruits and vegetables while participating in the Brighter Bites program.
- Of those, 74% said they maintained that increased level of consumption after Brighter Bites ended.
Children and parents participating in Brighter Bites reported a:
- significant increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed;
- significant increase in serving more fruits and vegetables as snacks;
- two-fold increase in cooking meals from scratch, and a significant increase in eating meals together and serving more produce as part of those meals;
- two-fold increase in using nutrition labels to guide grocery purchases;
- and a significant decrease in added sugars consumed among children.
About Brighter Bites:
Brighter Bites is a nonprofit that creates communities of health through fresh food with the goal of changing behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. Brighter Bites is an evidence-based, multi-component elementary school, preschool, and summer camp program that utilizes reliable access to fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and consistent exposure to recipes and messages that feature fresh food. Since 2012, Brighter Bites has provided more than 18 million pounds of produce and 100,000s of nutrition education materials to more than 265,000 individuals (including teachers!) at 125 sites in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, and Southwest Florida. The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) recently named Brighter Bites the winner of the 2018 PHA Impact Award. In 2016, Brighter Bites won the Texas Health Champion Award. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit BrighterBites.org.
Staff Spotlight: Meet Mike!
In this edition of Staff Spotlight, meet Mike!
Mike Pomeroy, Senior Program Director (right) pictured with Stefanie Cousins, Director of Marketing & Communications (left)
Mike Pomeroy is Brighter Bites’ senior program director and member of our Houston-based executive team. Mike has been with Brighter Bites since its inception in 2012 and worked with Dr. Shreela Sharma at UT Health School of Public Health on the evaluation of our program for its first few years. Mike joined our staff in his current role in the summer of 2015.
When asked what interested him in joining the Brighter Bites team, Mike said the following:
“In my studies at UT School of Public Health about food policy in the United States and the environmental determinants of health, I knew I wanted to help underserved families in this country have a sustainable way to learn how to eat healthier. When Dr. Sharma first told me in the summer of 2012 about Lisa’s idea to send families home with free fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, I was immediately drawn to the potential impact. As the program has grown, the original commitment to actually empowering families to make positive change in their lives has remained the core purpose of the organization. This is what draws me in and inspires me to be a part of Brighter Bites every day!”
Mike (right), pictured with Brighter Bites volunteers and Program Manager Lani Alcazar (second from left)
Mike loves visiting our program sites to join our amazing crew of volunteers to bag produce for our families. He’s inspired by the volunteers who come out to break a sweat for their fellow community members and also enjoys seeing all the beautiful, nourishing produce that we send home with our families each week.
Mike spent his early childhood in Las Cruces, New Mexico, before moving to Baytown, Texas, outside of Houston. He was both a self-described band nerd and theater geek during his high school days.
Today Mike enjoys living in Houston’s diverse city limits, full of people with big ideas from all over the world. When he’s not on the job, you’ll likely find Mike attending progressive political events or spending time with his husband Kris and their two rowdy pit-bull/boxer mix pups (April and Guinness).
We’re so lucky to have Mike as a leader for Brighter Bites. Be sure to say hi next time you see Mike at a bagging!