W E LCO M E
Our mission at Brighter Bites is to create communities of health through fresh food. We are a nonprofit that delivers fruits and vegetables directly into families’ hands. We teach them how to use it and track their behavior change. We make it fun. We make it free. And we make it happen via a simple, replicable formula. P R O D U C E D I ST R I B U T I O N + N U T R I T I O N E D U C AT I O N + F U N F O O D E X P E R I E N C E
PROMOTE AWARENESS
There is widespread lack of understanding regarding how food impacts health. CREATE DEMAND
Less than half of U.S. children eat the advised amount of fruits and vegetables daily. IMPROVE HEALTH
Three out of every ten children in the U.S. are obese. INCREASE ACCESS
An estimated 10% of the U.S. population has poor access to fresh food.
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Produce Distribution Every week, Brighter Bites heads to schools, camps, and community centers, and distributes fresh, seasonal produce for families and teachers to pick up and take home. This year, the program will look a little different from years past. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Brighter Bites has teamed up with produce suppliers (growers and distributors) 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 to those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. If these boxes are no longer available, Brighter Bites will work with other produce partners to ensure the program continues at each site. Each family will receive a box that contains a variety of produce, weighing about 20-25 pounds and equates to about 50 servings of fruits and vegetables. Brighter Bites provides free fresh produce from generous donors and growers to thousands of families across the country. Some of this produce may look different from food you see in a grocery store. It could be a two-legged carrot, an overripe banana, or a slightly bruised apple. These types of items may not look perfect, but they are safe and nutritious.
O U R T H R E E - PA R T N OT- S O - S E C R E T F O R M U L A
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Nutrition Education We are one of the few nonprofits that simultaneously targets increasing food access and food literacy. At school and through digital platforms, we teach kids, parents, and teachers how to make the most of their produce. We train and support schools in their implementation of the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH), Youth Understanding MyPlate (YUM), and other evidence-based programs that promote healthy food choices and physical activity. Additionally, we provide digital nutrition education handbooks, tip sheets, and recipe cards for everyone to use at home through an assortment of platforms. Typically, Brighter Bites secures a fixed number of produce boxes for each school, camp, or community center. Brighter Bites will provide produce boxes to teachers and staff who play an active role in our program, after ensuring that the needs of the students and their families are met. We encourage teachers to utilize their produce boxes in class to conduct Brighter Bites produce activities or to offer a digital produce activity experience for their students through our video library.
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Fun Food Experience Typically during weekly produce pickups (also called distributions), Brighter Bites staff and volunteers create a fun food experience, demonstrating colorful recipes prepared by our team and passing out samples that incorporate the week’s fresh produce for families to taste together. This year we are sending the “fun food experience” home and encouraging our families to create a safe, healthy, and fun food experience for the whole family by cooking nutritious meals together at home. Brighter Bites staff will engage with families through various digital platforms, like newsletters, text messages, website, our new Brighter Bites app, and social media by sharing easy recipes, kitchen how-tos, culinary tips, and healthy topics. Brighter Bites encourages teachers to share these digital resources with students and their families via their classroom’s virtual platforms as well.
TA ST Y T I D B I TS & W H O L E S O M E H I N TS
School staff are an integral part of the Brighter Bites program. Here are some of the elements that are essential to making our partnership a success: PRODUCE DISTRIBUTION
• This school year, produce distributions will require space
outdoors to distribute fruits and vegetables in a drive-thru manner or socially-distanced walk-up line. Brighter Bites staff, school staff, and volunteers will distribute produce to families in a safe way, consistent with precautions for reducing the risk of the spread of the coronavirus.
FAMILY ENROLLMENT AND ENGAGEMENT
• This year, Brighter Bites enrollment is going paperless. We will have digital enrollment available for families to sign up from home. Although enrollment is rolling, we encourage families to sign up at the beginning of the year in order to get the most out of our nutrition education tips and tools throughout the year. This fall, we will also be debuting our Brighter Bites Mobile App in the Android and Apple App Stores to help families access, save, and favorite our nutrition education tools in their own profile within the app.
• Brighter Bites shares recipes, kitchen how-tos, culinary tips, and healthy topic posts and videos on Facebook and Instagram. We encourage staff to share the Fun Food Experience posts and videos with their students as well as participate in the group pages on Facebook.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
• Teachers, including Physical Education Coaches/Teachers, will be required to deliver eight CATCH or YUM lessons, depending on their city, over the course of the year. Your Brighter Bites Program Coordinator will provide your school with an action plan to simplify leading and tracking the lessons. Teachers are oriented virtually at the beginning of the school year on which lessons to teach and how to log them.
• Nutrition education reports will be shared with your school’s administration along the way to assist you in successful implementation of all lessons and activities.
• Teachers using the CATCH curriculum may access
lessons via the online portal at CATCH.org. Teachers using the YUM curriculum may access lessons via SharePoint or they will be emailed.
• When supplies of produce boxes are available, classroom teachers will be eligible to receive Brighter Bites produce to conduct produce activities in the classroom and to enjoy at home. If produce boxes are not available for classroom use, teachers can offer a digital produce activity experience for kids through distance learning. All teachers will log their CATCH/YUM lessons, produce activities, and P.E. activities in our system at track.brighterbites.org.
PROGRAMMING
• Brighter Bites programming is unique this school year due to COVID-19. We will continue to adjust as needed.
• For more answers to your questions, visit our website: https://brighterbites.org/teacher-tools/
BRIGHTER BITES IS CHANGING BEHAVIOR Research by UTHealth shows that two years after participating in the program, an average Brighter Bites family consumes 19 additional servings of fresh fruits and vegetables over one week. “Brighter Bites made me cook things I wouldn’t have bought for fear of wasting money if my children didn’t like it.” H A P P Y PA R E N T
BRIGHTER BITES IS INCREASING FRUIT & VEGETABLE (F&V) INTAKE IN SCHOOL LUNCHES Research by UTHealth shows that Brighter Bites significantly reduces Fruit & Vegetable waste and related nutrient waste in school lunches. “We loved this program! It was great to volunteer to load bags, and such a treat to enjoy delicious, healthy food at home. It helps us discuss good choices with our kids and makes us proud of our school!” H A P P Y PA R E N T
BRIGHTER BITES IS INCREASING PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN SCHOOL
BRIGHTER BITES IS GROWING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE U.S.
Research by UTHealth shows that 69% of 704 teachers surveyed agree that Brighter Bites has increased parental engagement at their school.
Since 2012, Brighter Bites has delivered more than 22 million pounds of fresh produce at more than 240 sites to over 265,000 individuals (including teachers) across multiple states.
“I am more impressed each and every week. Not only with the goal of the program, but also with the participation rate, how smoothly the distribution runs, and the dedication shown by our parent volunteers. Brighter Bites is really making a difference.”
“Thank you on behalf of the families, staff, and students. Brighter Bites is a uniting force in ensuring that our community becomes well versed on the topic of healthy eating”
H A P P Y T E AC H E R
H A P P Y P R I N C I PA L
RESOURCES
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