Brighter Bites was founded in 2012 with the mission to create communities of health through fresh food. Brighter Bites’ ultimate goal is to reduce health disparities in under-served communities through the proven strategies of increasing access to fruits and vegetables and providing age-appropriate nutrition education through area schools.

Since its founding, Brighter Bites has expanded far beyond its original service area in Houston, Texas. Over the last ten years, we have grown to reach over 35,000 families each week in more than a dozen cities across five states, including Texas, New York, Maryland, Florida, California, and Arizona. The diversity of the cities served, and the participants reached is a testament to Brighter Bites’ scalability, adaptability, and responsiveness to local community needs.

Brighter Bites understands that schools are the primary vector to equip young people with the skills and ingredients they need to thrive. Brighter Bites partners with more than 200 schools across the country, distributing over 60 million pounds of fruits and vegetables and millions of nutrition education materials to more than 550,000 individuals, including teachers.

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In the United States, childhood obesity has risen over the past 20 years, contributing to negative immediate and long-term health outcomes. Many children can maintain a healthy weight by having healthy eating habits and engaging in physical activity. Children living in low-income areas generally have less access to affordable healthy foods (e.g., fruits, vegetables). Schools can play a critical role in improving the dietary and physical activity behaviors of children and adolescents. Schools can create healthy environments by implementing policies and practices that support healthy eating and regular physical activity and by providing opportunities for students to learn and practice these behaviors. Because a high-quality diet and physical activity are associated with improved school performance, a healthy school environment can also support academic achievement.

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Every week of programming, Brighter Bites heads to elementary schools and summer camps to distribute fresh, seasonal produce for families and teachers to pick up and take home. These bags and boxes contain about ~50 servings of an ever-changing variety of fresh fruits and veggies, weighing close to 20 pounds.

We teach kids, parents, and teachers how to make the most of their produce. We believe teachers are important role models in the lives of children, and we support them in the implementation of evidence-based nutrition education in the classroom. In addition, we provide easy recipes, kitchen how-tos and tips, and healthy topics via text message, newsletter, and mobile app for families to use at home.

Brighter Bites staff know that healthy food does not have to be intimidating, so we create a welcoming environment for families. We connect and engage with families and students through in-person produce distributions and recipe demonstrations over the course of the year.

See more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOP43SxNG1Y