News Type: Milestones

Research Shows Brighter Bites Helps Children, Families Eat Healthier

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Christina Blick -

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Shreela Sharma’s paper documenting the benefits Brighter Bites gives to families was published in Preventive Medicine!

Here are a few highlights from the study:

Children ate 9% more fruit after participating in Brighter Bites
Children ate 20% more vegetables after participating in Brighter Bites
Children ate 13% less added sugar after participating in Brighter Bites
Brighter Bites improved the home environment of participating families:
- BB families cook more home
- BB families serve more fruits and vegetables as snacks
- BB families eat more meals as a family
- BB parents have improved understanding of nutrition facts labels and use them to make decisions in the grocery store.

Read the complete paper here.

Dallas Program Director Publishes Gradudate School Research

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Christina Blick -

Brighter Bites Dallas Program Director Alicia Farhat and Brighter Bites co-founder Dr. Shreela Sharma recently published research findings from Alicia’s Master in Public Health thesis research project in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

The article describes the long term effects of attending Kamp K’aana, a two-week residential weight management camp, on the weight and body mass index (BMI) measurements of obese youth. This intensive program aimed to introduce youth to a variety of tools to empower them to lead healthy lifestyles by making changes in their lives and diet through fun-based activities and building self-esteem. The participants also followed a specific meal plan tailored to meet their nutrition needs. The Kamp K’aana program was also developed to be short, lower cost, and available to youth who are economically disadvantaged and ethnically diverse.

Participants’ height and weight measurements were taken pre-camp, post-camp, and at the 11-month reunion and used to calculate BMI, BMI percentiles, and BMI z scores. At the end of the 2-week camp, significant reductions were seen in body weight and all BMI measures. At the long-term reunion, significant reductions persisted from pre-camp measures in BMI z scores and BMI percentile. In addition, small reductions in BMI z scores and BMI percentile continued when compared with the post-camp measures. This indicated slight continued improvement or stability in weight and BMI measures outside the camp setting. Other studies have shown that a decrease in BMI z score may be associated with decreased blood pressure and improvement in cardiovascular risk factors. The short-term improvements and long-term maintenance suggest that the experience of these types of camps can initiate changes in lifestyle at home.

Alicia’s focus in the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity remains as she works to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in children through Brighter Bites program implementation in schools and summer programs in Dallas. By participating in Brighter Bites children may have a greater chance of maintaining healthy eating habits learned through programs like Kamp K’aana. Alicia hopes to continue to follow her passion for research by increasing the Dallas Brighter Bites program’s contributions to the entire organization’s research efforts and studying the impact the program has on children’s eating behaviors at school and at home.

Dallas Program Coordinator Named Texas CATCH Champion

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Christina Blick -

Dallas Program Coordinator, Jacqueline Noyola (pictured above, second from right), will be one of six CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) Champions recognized this year in Texas by the CATCH Global Foundation for her relentless passion for advocating for children’s health and supporting healthy environments at the schools Brighter Bites serves in Dallas.

Over the course of her nearly two years with Brighter Bites, Jacqueline has become as a leader in the implementation of CATCH. Her mission is to encourage and empower faculty and staff in each Brighter Bites school to use the CATCH curriculum and get excited about teaching and modeling healthy habits for children and their families.

Jacqueline has excelled in her efforts to fulfill Brighter Bites’ goals through not only increasing access to fresh produce, but also educating children, families, and staff at schools on how to lead and promote healthier lifestyles. The Brighter Bites family is thrilled to have a CATCH Champion working with teachers and staff on coordinated school health!

Brighter Bites Returns to Washington, D.C. This Week!

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Christina Blick -

Meetings on Capitol Hill last month resulted in the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture inviting Brighter Bites to testify at a hearing on the Past, Present, and Future of SNAP: Evaluating Effectiveness and Outcomes in Nutrition Education. The hearing, which takes place on Wednesday, June 22 at 10:00am ET, will be the first Hill hearing on SNAP nutrition education in years.

Brighter Bites Co-Founder Dr. Shreela Sharma, a professor of epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health, will testify about the creation and development of the Brighter Bites model and the robust research infrastructure she uses to evaluate the program and the families who participate in it.

Brighter Bites Goes To Washington, Again!

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Christina Blick -

Brighter Bites Takes Washington!

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Christina Blick -

Last month members of the Brighter Bites leadership team and Rich Dachman, Sysco’s Vice President of Produce and a Brighter Bites Board Member, traveled to Washington, D.C. for high-level meetings at the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate. Founder Lisa Helfman and Rich Dachman had also been invited to participate in a panel on scaling grassroots programs through partnerships that week at the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) Building a Healthier Future Summit. Serendipitous meetings took place on the conference margins with leaders from PHA, Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Marathon Kids, JCC of America, The Food Trust, and other key organizations working to increase access to healthy food and physical activity.

Partnerships were the theme of the week and PHA set the tone with celebrity endorsements of fruit and vegetable consumption (FNV) and a humorous approach to drinking more water as they collaborate with Brita on Nalgene giveaways and others in the Drink Up campaign. The two-day Summit focused on building partnerships across sectors to make the healthy choice the easy choice.

Lisa and Rich, representing Brighter Bites and Sysco, joined Marathon Kids Executive Director Christine Pollei and Nike Senior Director of North America Community Impact Caitlin Morris for a panel discussion on Growing the Grassroots: Scaling Through Partnership. Ladan Manteghi, Executive Director of the Global Social Enterprise Initiative at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, moderated a lively discussion about how these for-profit and nonprofit businesses are working together toward building healthier futures.

Lisa and Rich’s comments focused on Brighter Bites and Sysco’s shared mission to deliver fresh food directly to those who need it. Rich highlighted his admiration for Brighter Bites “figuring out how to get food down the last mile to kids” and his wish to “help Brighter Bites so we can reach kids throughout the country.” Lisa’s key messages focused on her own individual and organizational growth experience that developed out of the knowledge she gained from conversations and partnerships with experts in the field. Lisa and Rich’s panel discussion with Marathon Kids and Nike was highly attended and resulted in lively follow up discussions and requests for meetings.

The summit’s closing plenary featured PHA Honorary Chair and First Lady Michelle Obama whose presence so close to our table and speech was one of the most thrilling moments of the week, after our White House tour. The First Lady focused her comments on her support for the new FDA-approved nutrition facts label she had revealed at a press conference earlier that morning, the people in the room working toward creating a healthier future, and remembering to always put our children first. These were fitting words for the Brighter Bites team and our partners who work to create healthy communities through fresh food every day.

Brighter Bites Rings in 2016 with New Executive Director Sam Newman

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Chris Manlapid -

Brighter Bites is thrilled to announce that Sam Newman is the new, and first, Executive Director at Brighter Bites. He was previously with San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B, where he served as a senior member of the research team, focusing on efforts related to federal nutrition assistance programs SNAP and WIC. In San Antonio, Sam was actively involved in the Public Library Foundation, serving on the Executive Committee and as Chairman-elect. He was also a member of Leadership San Antonio (2013). Sam began his career in Washington, D.C., with stints at Quinn Gillespie and Associates – a leading public affairs firm, then on to the U.S. Department of Commerce and the World Bank, where he coordinated U.S. government advocacy on behalf of American companies pursuing foreign procurement opportunities. He is passionate about literacy and food and the impact they can have on communities. He runs when he has time, and he likes to write, take photos, travel, and cook. Sam is originally from Austin. He holds a BA in Government from the University of Texas and an MBA from Georgetown University. He now resides in Houston with his wife, son, and one child on the way.

BB Premieres in ATX

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Chris Manlapid -

Brighter Bites goes to the Capital!

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Chris Manlapid -

Brighter Bites has expanded to Austin, establishing the program’s third city in Texas! Stefanie Cousins is the Program Director, overseeing the day-to-day operations and working closely with the Capital Area Food Bank, the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas School of Public Health, and other Austin community partners. Stefanie is also the newly appointed Director of Communications for Brighter Bites. She is responsible for the organization’s digital presence and communications strategies. Stefanie is an award-winning producer for ABC News, PBS and The New York Times, and a specialist in public health, health promotion and program development. Before joining Brighter Bites, Stefanie was principal of Blue Heart Media. She has written and produced several videos for MD Anderson Cancer Center, John Snow Inc. (JSI) and the United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Stefanie has also provided writing services and communications consulting to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), WebMD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, APQC Education, and the United States Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Before launching Blue Heart Media, Stefanie was a producer for Barbara Walters at ABC News 20/20, New York Times Television’s Science Times, and NOW with Bill Moyers. She also has produced long-form documentaries for PBS about human trafficking and smuggling and for The National Geographic Channel about the obesity epidemic. As a client supervisor for a mid-size communications firm in Raleigh, NC, Stefanie provided team management and project execution in the firm’s health care practice. Stefanie holds an MPH from the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and a BA in English and Italian from Middlebury College. She lives in Austin, TX with her husband and two children.

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far?

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Chris Manlapid -

Mike Pomeroy has been an integral part of the Brighter Bites roll out and development over the past three years in his work at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at the UT School of Public Health, where he worked closely with Brighter Bites Co-Founder Shreela Sharma, PhD. Mike has had an interest in improving food access and reducing food insecurity since beginning his time as a Master’s student at the UT School of Public Health in Houston. He lobbied for improved national school lunch standards in 2010 as an intern with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and worked with Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign in 2012. He has also served on Houston ISD’s School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) for the past 3 years. Mike obtained his Masters of Public Health in 2010 with an emphasis in health policy, and worked with the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living from 2008-2015 on multiple health promotion research projects, including the pilot project that launched Brighter Bites. Mike is excited to join the Brighter Bites team full time in this capacity, and looks forward to overseeing the expansion and strengthening of the program.