Family Resources
Brighter Bites is creating demand for fresh produce🍐🍍🍅🥕🍑
Each week of programming, Brighter Bites sends home ~50 servings of fruits and veggies to the families we serve. We could not do this without the produce industry’s expertise, logistical know-how, and fresh product!
Have the produce expertise and want to be a part of our mission? We'd love to see how we can partner!➡️ https://brighterbites.org/produce-partners/
#BrighterBitesInvolved #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy #BrighterBitesVolunteer
JUST TWO DAYS ✌️UNTIL OUR BIG EVENT! 🎉
Have you registered yet? Not only will we be cooking up a delicious menu prepared by @smartinthekitchen, but we will also be talking about how you can get involved with Brighter Bites! And SURPRISE! We have two giveaways that we will raffle off to those attending- a $250 gift card to @heb and dinner at local Houston restaurant @kpskitchen024! We cannot wait to get cooking with YOU this Sunday at 5:00PM CST!
Tickets start at $50! Register TODAY here! ➡️ www.brighterbites.org/smartinthekitchen
Meet THREE amazing volunteers who have made an impact in the Austin community by volunteering with Brighter Bites!🤩
🥦 Judith has been volunteering with Brighter Bites since January 2021. She volunteers at 2 of our Austin school communities, she discovered us through Austin Acts of Kindness. Judith's favorite part of participating with Brighter Bites is seeing the smiling faces when she helps load cars with boxes of fresh produce.🍊
🍍 Rogelio has been volunteering with Brighter Bites for the past 8 weeks! He loves the feeling of being helpful through volunteering for Brighter Bites. His favorite fruits are pineapples and avocados. 🥑
🥭 Julie has been volunteering with Brighter Bites since Summer 2020. She helps us by making it easier to transport our fruits and vegetables for our walking families by putting their produce in bags. Her favorite part about volunteering with Brighter Bites is being able to interact with families during distribution. 😄
We are so grateful for these volunteers and more! Thank you for all that you do!
@brighterbitesaustin
#BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesHouston #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy #BrighterBitesVolunteer
What do you get when you have kids' imaginations, fruits & veggies, and some art supplies? ... some BERRY impressive and creative artwork❗️🎨🍓
This semester we had our first-ever ART-ichoke Contest where we encouraged our Brighter Bites teachers and their students to submit artwork inspired by Brighter Bites fruits and veggies. The art ranged from colored pencil drawings to paintings to 3D designs to science projects to digital art and more! Here is a look at some of the healthy-inspired artwork we received! 🖌✏️🖍
We had a total of 632 submissions from 94 classrooms! We received submissions from every city as well as every grade level- PK-6th grade!
Our winner (selected by random drawing) was Valerie Brooks, first grade teacher, in Washington, D.C. who has participated in the Brighter Bites program for three years! Every child that submitted artwork received a pARTipcation Award for their creativity. We are so proud of our teachers and students for the creativity and excitement for healthy eating that we saw through this artwork! 🤩🎨
#BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience
I don't know about you, but I love fruits and vegetables from my head TO-MA-TOES🍅!
This #NationalFreshTomatoDay, we are sharing our Black Bean & Corn Salsa. It's a salsa the whole family will enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
1 (15oz) can corn (no salt added)
1 (15oz) can black beans (no salt added)
6 Tomatoes 🍅
1 Bunch cilantro
4 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
2 Avocados
DIRECTIONS:
Drain corn and black beans and place in a bowl. Chop tomatoes and cilantro, then add to the beans and corn. Add lime juice, salt, and olive oil and mix. Lastly, cube and add avocados. Enjoy!
Download the recipe on our website ➡️ https://brighterbites.org/recipe/black-bean-corn-salsa/
#NationalFreshTomatoDay #HealthyEating #HealthyCooking #VegetarianRecipe #BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
Got what it takes to be a Brighter Bites volunteer?
We have ✌️two ways that you can get involved!
Interested in getting your hands dirty and packing our boxes full of produce? Join us for a Produce Boxing! 📦🌽🥔🍋
Interested in helping us distribute produce boxes full of fresh fruits and vegetables to our families? Help us at a Produce Distribution! 🚗🚶♀️🥦
Visit our website to find the right volunteer shift for YOU!➡️ https://brighterbites.org/volunteer/
#BrighterBitesInvolved #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy #BrighterBitesVolunteer
We are thanking our lucky star(fruit)s for our Dallas team!⭐️
Here is a look at our Dallas program this year!
🏤 23 sites
👨👩👧👦 12,158 families served
🍍 306,305 pounds of fruits and veggies distributed
🤝 Our partners: @freshpoint_dallas @northtexasfoodbank @yourtaylorfarms
🏆 A few stand out items of produce distributed: Asian pears, baby sour mangos, snap peas, watercress, tomatillos, English cucumber, kale 🥭🥒
@BrighterBitesDallas
#BrighterBitesInvolved #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy #BrighterBitesVolunteer
Brighter Bites is creating communities of health through fresh food, and you can be a part of it! 🥦🍉🍊🥑🌽🍎
Looking to learn more, support our work, AND get cooking? Join us for our upcoming event!
It's a virtual, family-friendly culinary experience with Marcia Smart of @SmartintheKitchen and hosted by Brighter Bites’ Founder Lisa Helfman, Board Member Scott McClelland, and Houston Life Co-Host Courtney Zavala
What's on the menu? 😋
Strawberry Mojito (cocktail)
Spring Pea and Leek Tartine
Mixed Greens with Homemade Salad Dressing
Rigatoni Kale Pasta
Chocolate and Berry Board
This hands-on, stay-at-home event will benefit Brighter Bites’ critical work of providing fresh produce and nutrition education to nearly 30,000 families nationwide. There are a few ticket levels 🎟, so please visit our website and see how you'd like to join in on the fun! ➡️
www.brighterbites.org/smartinthekitchen
We can't wait to spend the evening with you! 🎉
ORANGE you glad to know that today is National Oranges and Lemons Day!? 🍊 It's the Zestiest day of the week! 🍋
We are sharing a few of our yummy orange and lemon recipes.
- X-Ray Vision Smoothie
- Brighter Bites Smoothie
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette
Fun facts:
🍊 Both Lemons and Oranges are high in Vitamin C.
🍋 A few health benefits:
• Immune-boosting
• Good for your heart, vision, skin, and bone health
• May lower risk of cancer
#NationalOrangesAndLemonsDay #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
Who says healthy eating can't be fun? 🍊
Here at Brighter Bites, we believe that healthy eating should be fun! Our DC team is taking our distributions to whole new level of healthy and fun engagement. Here is a peek at some of the healthy characters that are popping up at our DC distributions!...Now that is what we call fun AND healthy!! 😄
🥒Our #TuesdayTip today is make healthy food fun! Kids eat with their eyes first, so make the plate colorful and fun, and don't be afraid to play with your food! The more engaged kids are with healthy foods, the more likely they are to try new things. 🥗
@BrighterBitesDC
#BrighterBites #BrighterBitesDC #TuesdayTip #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
We can't talk about our impact without talking about volunteers- that's a fact!
👏☺️
Our volunteers help get our fruits and veggies packed and stacked 📦📦
And make sure we keep our drive-thru and walk-up lines on track! 🚗🚙🚶♂️🚶♀️
Although out traditional volunteer model has shifted this year, there is still plenty of work to do to get fruits from farms to families! 😀🍊🍽We've got shifts available in all of our cities, and we'd love to have you!
Sign up today and be part of our impact in your community! 👏https://brighterbites.org/volunteer/
#BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
This just in! 📰🎉
We've just released our produce-forward menu for our upcoming event! Strawberries and peas and berries, O MY! The menu line up for the event is as tasty as it sounds, and our hosts for the evening have so much fun in store for us. We cannot wait to get cooking with YOU!
Have you registered for the virtual cooking class yet? It's not too late! Register today at www.brighterbites.org/smartinthekitchen
We cannot wait to spend an evening cooking with you!
Keep Austin...HEALTHY! (Part 2)
It takes a village to serve a Texas-sized city, and we could not be more honored to partner with so many great companies to help us bring healthy foods to our community. Let's introduce you to some of the people that help make it happen 💚
🍏We started new partnership with @mrgreensproduce in January for storage, boxing, and delivery of produce to schools
🥗@sweetgreen chose us as their social impact partner this year and donated 315 fresh salads to our families
❄️After the Feb '21 winter storm, we joined Austin's recovery efforts received so much volunteer support from city council members @GregCasar of D4 and @mpt_harpermadison of D1. Many of these volunteers continue to come out to our distributions!
Talk about produce! 😍
🥬Bok Choy donated by local Austin farm @urbanrootsatx
🍎Rockit Apples donated by @ChelanFresh @rockitappleusa
🥑Avocados donated by @delreyavocadoco
🥬Spring Mix and Arugula donated by The Salad Farm
🍍🍌Pineapples and bananas donated by Dole
🥔60,000+ pounds of potatoes donated by Skyline Potato Co
@brighterbitesaustin
#BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesAustin #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
Keep Austin...HEALTHY! (Part 1) 🍑🌶🌽🥑🍊🍅🍉
We've been keeping Austin healthy since 2015, and we are excited to share some of our highlights from this year! Here are the quick facts:
📍18 sites in the Eastern crescent served
🍽~2500 families fed!
🏤Four school district partnerships: @austinisd @kipp_austin_comunidad @austinachievees @child_inc_travis_county
🥦514,953 POUNDS of fresh fruits and vegetables distributed since programming began in September 2020
@brighterbitesaustin
#BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesAustin #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
Have you registered for our event yet? 🥳
Join us for an evening of cooking together while supporting our mission. We have a fantastic produce-forward menu planned for you with recipes the whole family will love! This hands-on, stay-at-home event will benefit Brighter Bites’ critical work of providing fresh produce and nutrition education to nearly 30,000 families nationwide. 🍳🍝🥘🥗
We have a full line up for you including Marcia Smart of @smartinthekitchen, Brighter Bites’ Founder Lisa Helfman, President of H-E-B Food/Drug Stores Scott McClelland, and Houston Life Co-Host @courtneyzavala.
Register at the link in our bio to gain access to the exclusive event! We can't wait to spend an evening cooking with YOU! 🎉
Meet Lilian Shieh. 👋
Lilian is one of our Houston volunteers. Here you can see her volunteering at our produce boxing at the Houston Food Bank! 📦
Eating is one of her favorite things to do, and she wants all families to have that experience with food. 😁🙌
Thank you, Lilian, and all of our volunteers for supporting our mission! Through your support, we are able to bring healthy foods to so many families in the Houston community! 🥦🥭🍇🍅
@brighterbiteshou
#ThankfulThursday #BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesHouston #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy #BrighterBitesVolunteer
Salinas, CA friends!
Interested in getting involved? We would love to have you come volunteer with us!
Our volunteer opportunities are up and available for YOU! Here is a peek at our Saturday produce boxing volunteer shift. 📦👏👏
During Produce Boxing, Brighter Bites volunteers assist with the sorting and re-packing of fresh fruits and vegetables into Brighter Bites boxes for families to pick up and take home later that week. 🍓🥦🍊🥬
Won't you join us? We can't wait to have you! 🤗
Sign up today! ➡️ https://brighterbites.org/volunteer/
@brighterbitessalinas
#BrighterBites #BrighterBitesSalinas #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #nonprofit #volunteers
The proof is in the PAPAYA- Brighter Bites really shines with the research behind our program. Here is a peek at some of our published research showing our benefit and impact on the families we serve!🍎🍍🏫📈
Researchers at the UTHealth School of Public Health conducted a two-year study evaluating the impact of Brighter Bites. Study results show that children and parents who did receive Brighter Bites demonstrated:
🍊HEALTHIER HABITS
Significant increase in amount of fruits and vegetables consumed.
🥦LESS ADDED SUGAR
Significant decrease in amount of added sugars consumed among children.
🍽MORE HOME COOKING
Twofold increase in cooking meals from scratch
🍇HEALTHIER SNACKING
Significant increase in serving more fruits and vegetables as snacks.
🥗MORE FAMILY MEALS
Significant increase in eating produce-heavy meals together at home
🧠SMARTER DECISIONS
Twofold increase in using nutrition labels to guide grocery purchases.
Now those facts really take the FRUITcake! To see our library of published articles, visit our website at www.brighterbites.org/research
#BrighterBitesImpact #BrighterBites #WeAreBrighterBites #FreshProduce #fruits #vegetables #Nonprofit #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #JoyOfFresh #EatHealthy
Racism has no place in our communities.
Brighter Bites will always be a safe and inclusive place for all members of our community. Brighter Bites stands in solidarity with our staff, volunteers, families, and school partners in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
#StopAsianHate
Today is the day! Ready to accessorize and give back? ✨
Buy Kendra Scott jewelry online today and tomorrow with our code below, and the proceeds of your order will go to support our program.
How do you order?
- Visit www.kendrascott.com
- Enter code GIVEBACK-14AW at check out!
Visit the event webpage (link in bio) for more information ➡️ http://kendragivesbackbrighterbites.splashthat.com
Happy shopping!