Houston-based Brighter Bites, a nonprofit that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables and nutrition education resources for families, is celebrating 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 people across all communities it serves, including: Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, Washington, D.C., Southwest Florida, Salinas, Los Angeles and Bakersfield.
In 2021, the organization distributed more than five million pounds of produce in seven metro areas and taught 53,984 nutrition education lessons and activities in classrooms. Brighter Bites also received more than $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 ten years possible.”
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.
“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,” Helfman said. “We expect to grow to at least two more cities in 2023 and anticipate keeping this momentum for the next ten years and beyond.”
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.
To learn more about Brighter Bites, visit brighterbites.org.