Produce Blue Book discusses Brighter Bites’ withdrawal from the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program due to new USDA guidelines requiring the boxes to contain meat and dairy items. Brighter Bites is committed to serving only produce to families in underserved communities, therefore its participation will discontinue this September. The Produce Blue Book wrote two articles about these changes, the latest published on August 11.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited a Maryland farm to promote the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Brighter Bites and its partnership with Coastal Produce were mentioned in this WMAR-ABC/Baltimore piece.
Brighter Bites will continue to provide free produce to Houston-area schools, no matter what the re-opening scenario may be. Read more about our flexible distribution plans and our upcoming Google platform app in Outsmart Magazine.
Brighter Bites has partnered with a fleet of produce suppliers to ensure that 25,000 families continue to receive 20-25 lbs of produce every week. The partnership was established on behalf of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program. To read the full article, visit And Now U Know.
Brighter Bites Distributes 50,000 Produce Boxes per Week on Behalf of
USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program
Nonprofit reaches more families than ever in six U.S. cities
Houston, TX (June 17, 2020) – Brighter Bites is partnering with produce suppliers throughout the country in conjunction with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program, a federal initiative developed specifically to distribute free agricultural products such as fresh produce, dairy, and meat, to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. Through this initiative, Brighter Bites aims to ensure that the 25,000 current Brighter Bites families continue to receive approximately 20-25 pounds of produce just as they did before COVID-19 affected their communities. Brighter Bites has also been giving $25 produce vouchers bi-weekly to Brighter Bites households for fruit and vegetable purchases at local grocery stores to ensure all families have access to fresh produce at this crucial time of need. Brighter Bites is distributing these produce boxes to an additional 25,000 families that live in the same cities where Brighter Bites currently operates.
The USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which was established under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, allows the USDA to partner with national, regional, and local produce suppliers whose distribution methods (through restaurants, hotels, other food service businesses) have been greatly impacted by COVID-19. Through the program, the suppliers purchase the unused fruits and vegetables, package it into boxes of mixed produce at their warehouse, and transport it to nonprofits like Brighter Bites to ensure the produce reaches those in need. The USDA reimburses the suppliers for the cost of the produce, labor, and transportation.
In an effort to maintain the Brighter Bites program during the crisis, Brighter Bites developed a new Family Resources page on its website, increased the frequency of its family newsletters, established social media channels in all six cities to increase access to program staff and resources, and enhanced communication with schools. Through these initiatives, Brighter Bites is providing information about local food distributions, mental health helplines, stress coping tips, and more. Brighter Bites is also providing a variety of nutrition education resources ranging from house-made nutrition spotlight videos to CATCH worksheets to PE activities.
Brighter Bites’ USDA produce box distributions began in mid-May.
Below find details about how Brighter Bites is collaborating with produce suppliers to help those in need in each of the organization’s service areas:
Brighter Bites Houston, TX with DiMare Fresh, GoFresh/Hardie’s Fresh Foods
Brighter Bites Austin, TX with DiMare Fresh
Brighter Bites Dallas, TX with GoFresh/Hardie’s Fresh Foods
Brighter Bites NYC with City Harvest, Perfect Pact, Tomato Thyme
Brighter Bites Washington, D.C. with Coastal Sunbelt Produce
Brighter Bites, SW Florida with Perfect Pact and Marjon Specialty Foods
“Brighter Bites is incredibly proud to partner with Coastal Sunbelt Produce, DiMare Fresh, Hardie’s Fresh Foods, Perfect Pact, and others as we all work to distribute nutritious food to families experiencing food insecurity during this time,” said Brighter Bites Director of Sourcing Jennifer Boone. “As an organization, we were adamant that school closures would not stop us from continuing to carry out our mission, but we knew that we would need to shift our model. We are honored that produce distributors around the country trusted us to ensure families received their produce boxes from the Farmers to Families program.”
In response to receiving the produce boxes from Brighter Bites and the Greater Riverdale Partnership in Prince George’s County, MD, Pastor Everett Pope of United Baptist Church said “We have been absolutely blessed to receive these generous and kind produce donations. The response from our community has been overwhelming. We are thankful for the partnership forged by Council Member Dannielle Glaros, and for the compassionate work of the Brighter Bites team. We the people are grateful. This is the type of unity needed to survive the times.”
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Brighter Bites served over 25,000 families nationwide enrolled in the program across 100 schools, with each family receiving 25 pounds of fresh produce and nutrition education on a weekly basis. Then COVID-19 hit, schools shuttered, and families lost access to this fresh produce they were dependent on for daily nourishment.
“Brighter Bites is so pleased to be a part of this USDA emergency initiative,” said Brighter Bites CEO Rich Dachman. “We look forward to continuing to serve as an integral part of this federal program as we find new ways to identify, package, and deliver nutritious food to those in desperate need across the country.”
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 27 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than 275,000 individuals (including teachers) in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, and Southwest Florida. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit www.brighterbites.org.
Brighter Bites and Dallas ISD have joined forces to distribute fresh food to families through the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program. The program was started by the USDA in April, during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, and aims to distribute fresh food to underserved families. The Dallas program includes distributions at schools, YMCAs, and other community organizations.
Currently the program includes weekly distributions every Thursday at Dallas ISD schools. Dallas ISD recently distributed a press release about its school outreach, which was picked up by Patch.com.
DALLAS, Texas (May 14, 2020) – DiMare Fresh, BB #:101247 a value-added distribution company specializing in produce and floral, has been selected to partner with USDA “Farmers to Families Food Box” program.
Being one of the few vertically integrated growers, DiMare Fresh will supply product through their distribution facilities in Texas to service nonprofit entities throughout the Southwest. The company will begin deliveries on Friday, May 15th as outlined by the USDA (the contract was for $24,363,660).
DiMare Fresh will utilize the USDA funds in their Texas operations in Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston which have been impacted with the loss of foodservice business. The direct store delivery model in both locations will be a seamless transition from distribution direct to restaurants to eligible nonprofits.
“We are honored to be a part of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box program to fully utilize our southwest distribution centers to help families in need,” said Tony DiMare, an owner of family-owned and operated DiMare Fresh. “Aside from helping those in need of fresh food in the communities we serve, we’re also able to help other growers move their surplus of fresh U.S. produce.”
DiMare Fresh has long standing relationships with local and regional food banks and other nonprofits, such as the Houston Food Bank, North Texas Food Bank, Community Table and Brighter Bites. This funding will allow for DiMare Fresh to expand to other hunger relief organizations and operations working to provide those in need with fresh food.
“This partnership with DiMare Fresh will ensure Brighter Bites families in Houston and Austin continue to receive fresh, immune-boosting produce at a time when they need it most,” said Brighter Bites Director of Sourcing Jennifer Boone. “The program will allow us to expand our reach in those cities by more than 30%, and we’re grateful to DiMare for trusting Brighter Bites to distribute their product with the greatest care and consideration.”
As part of this program, the USDA will exercise authority under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to purchase and distribute up to $3 billion in agricultural products to those in need. With this, the USDA has partnered with regional and local distributors whose workforce has been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase fresh produce, dairy, and meat.
For additional information and company updates, please visit www.dimarefresh.com.
About DiMare Fresh
DiMare Fresh is a provider of value-added distribution services in the form of repacking, ripening, consolidation and delivery of refrigerated food, specializing in produce and floral. We are proud of the DiMare name and reputation of integrity that was originally built as a tomato grower and repacker and is now expanded through our service and distribution network.
This article was also published in Perishable News and Produce News.