From: Morning Chalk Up
What is it?
Brighter Bites is a nonprofit delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to families that might not otherwise have access to them, while teaching them how to use and choose a different kind of fast food.
How do they do it?
Easy. Three simple steps.
Step one: Fill the plate. Every week Brighter Bites goes into local schools armed with fresh fruits and vegetables. Families and teachers are free to take two bags. That’s about 50 servings of fruits and vegetables, each week.
Step two: Educate. During the distribution, and sometimes even in classroom presentations, Brighter Bites team members teach the families how to prepare and serve the produce, as well as ways the teachers can incorporate the fruits and vegetables into class breaks when possible.
Food in the class? Yes please.
Step three: Make it great. Each visit the Brighter Bites volunteers come armed with nutrition books, tip sheets, recipes, and stickers. With exciting names like Hulk Smoothie, X-Ray Vision Smoothie, and Sunshine Baby Puree who wouldn’t want to try them?
You had us at stickers.
Sourcing manager Jennifer Boone said “At Brighter Bites, our goal is to change behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. We operate an evidence-based 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.”
And there was a whole lot of fresh food featured this Thanksgiving. Over 300 families at one school in NYC had healthier options like sweet potatoes, onions, green beans, spinach, and apples thanks to Brighter Bites.
Right now Brighter Bites has programs in Texas, DC, New York, and Florida. Each program runs for 16 weeks during the school year and eight weeks over summer. That’s an A+ from us.
