Brighter Bites, a nonprofit organization that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education resources directly into families’ hands, celebrates its 10th year of helping under-resourced communities throughout the U.S.
Since its founding in 2012, Brighter Bites has shared more than 50 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education to more than 500,000 individuals across all communities it serves, including: Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, Washington D.C., Southwest Florida, Salinas, Los Angeles and Bakersfield.
In 2021 alone, the organization distributed over five million pounds of produce in seven metro areas and taught 53,984 nutrition education lessons and activities in classrooms. Brighter Bites also received over $11 million from in-kind produce donations, surpassing the $8 million in 2020.
“During this upcoming school year, we’re expected to deliver over nine million pounds of produce, impacting almost 28,800 families,” said Lisa Helfman, co-founder of Brighter Bites. “We are beyond grateful to all of our fresh produce partners, volunteers and donors who have made the last 10 years possible and we look forward to many more to come!”
In addition to this milestone, Brighter Bites is hosting a back-to-school fundraising campaign with a goal of reaching $500,000 to create more equitable communities that foster healthy minds and bodies. To join in on the celebration, readers can donate, volunteer and/or partner with Brighter Bites through the links provided.
“The need for increasing access to fresh food and nutrition education to students and their families in under-resourced areas is monumental and Brighter Bites plans to continue to improve programming to meet those needs,” said Helfman. “We expect to grow to at least two more cities in 2023 and anticipate keeping this momentum for the next 10 years and beyond.”
For more information:
Jessica Schneider
Brighter Bites
jschneider@dma-solutions.com
https://brighterbites.org/