News Type: Volunteers on View

Dallas Superstars

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Christina Blick -

Brighter Bites is hard at work nationwide creating communities of health through fresh food to help our families make brighter food choices for brighter health outcomes. We learned early on that none of this would be possible without the support of the communities we serve, especially those of the families and school staff.

Read on to learn about three Dallas superstars who go above-and-beyond to make sure Brighter Bites shines in their schools.

Happy, Healthy Helpers

Maria is a standout parent volunteer at Anderson Elementary School. A Brighter Bites program associate shared the following about Maria: “Maria is a mother to six children and cares greatly about their nutritional needs. Maria and I have regular discussions and share recipe ideas. She always takes any extra [produce bag] sets she gets to the crossing guard and to the ice cream man in her neighborhood. Maria lives across the street from the school, so when the truck pulls up to deliver the Brighter Bites produce, she and her daughter Emma come on over ready to help.” Little Emma was recently given a Brighter Bites t-shirt so she could also shine in Brighter Bites red as she and her mom lend a helping hand.

Leading by Example

At Kleberg Elementary School, a special teaching assistant has shown her students the power of produce through her own life. She has changed her whole lifestyle since Kleberg began partnering with Brighter Bites. One daily example she sets for the kids — she now snacks on raw veggies and has come to really enjoy them, a true take-home lesson for Brighter Bites students!

Mayoral Motivation

Ma de is a parent volunteer at Hawthorne Elementary School who has earned the title ‘Mayor of Hawthorne.’ A Brighter Bites program coordinator explained why: “This is Ma de with her kiddos, Katherine and Nathalie. Ma de comes to every single bagging and doesn’t leave until the end of distribution each week. I call her the Mayor of Hawthorne because she knows and loves everyone at this school. She makes a friend out of everyone she meets and keeps us laughing each week.”

Thanks to all our Brighter Bites superstars! We couldn’t do what we do without you!

Volunteer Superstars in Austin, TX

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Christina Blick -

At an Austin, TX, Brighter Bites produce bagging, there is rarely a shortage of volunteers, laughter, and dancing. One special volunteer, Jackie from Metz Elementary, shows up week after week, bringing bounds of joy and her friends! Jackie never fails to make everyone laugh by balancing produce on her head – even while dancing to cumbia!

Volunteer Superstar Jackie Perez

Metz bagging would not be the same without Jackie, and we thank her for all she has done for the community!

Volunteer Jackie Perez (R) always ensures there are plenty of smiles at Brighter Bites baggings

Our program is also indebted to the incredible school administrators and staff, especially principals, assistant principals, and parent support specialists, who are dedicated to serving the kids and parents that make up their school communities by ensuring that Brighter Bites is implemented smoothly into all aspects of the school.

A special parent support specialist, Ms. Resendiz from Pecan Springs Elementary, is quite the Brighter Bites superstar! From week one she thought up innovative ways to support the program throughout the school, including creating specific signage to help organize family pick up lines and also had the idea to film a bagging time lapse.

Ms. Resendiz with one of her many contributions to Brighter Bites…her distribution signage!

Ms. Resendiz always shows up with a smile on her face to makes all the volunteers and Brighter Bites staff feel welcome.

Volunteers at Pecan Springs Elementary

Principal Mull and Assistant Principal Peralez-Hernandez at Wooldridge Elementary are another set of staff superstars! They each set a wonderful example of the power of supportive administration by getting fellow faculty involved and always announcing the daily Brighter Bites message. Both Principal Mull and Assistant Principal Peralez-Hernandez make a point to stop by each week at bagging or distribution and have even helped get their students involved!

A Woolridge student lends a helping hand

Each week they select five to ten third through fifth grade students to come help us with the bagging process. We are so in love with all that these ladies have done for our program!

Volunteers at Woolridge celebrate another successful bagging

We also want to give a shout out to Morgan Berry, a Boys and Girls Club coordinator at Cook Elementary. Morgan goes above and beyond each week to ensure all her students try the Brighter Bites snack and sets up a microphone so we can discuss the weekly nutrition education topic with the students. Morgan has been a tremendous help in making sure all her students are properly signed up to participate and continuously pick up their bags, even if they join the school half way through the season.

Smiling volunteers at Cook Elementary

Join us in celebrating these wonderful superstars who help the Brighter Bites Austin program shine. Find out how you can volunteer at a Brighter Bites program near you.

Thanksgiving 2018: Thank You Volunteers!

Posted on November 19, 2018 by Christina Blick -

Brighter Bites sure knows what people mean when they say “it takes a village.” The success of our program is built on a foundation of families, faculty, and community members coming together to support the health of their communities.

As we approach Thanksgiving and near the end of our fall 2018 season, we’d like to take a moment to call out the incredible volunteer support our program has experienced so far in each of our cities and thank everyone for their inspiring dedication to Brighter Bites. (All statistics below are for the fall 2019 season thus far!)

Houston
– Total number of sites: 45
– Total unique number of volunteers: 776
– Estimated total number of volunteer hours: 4,212
– Site of greatest volunteer engagement: Farias Early Childhood Center, averaging 44 volunteers per week
– Total unique number of external volunteers: 56

Volunteers at McMasters Elementary School in Pasadena (Houston), TX

Dallas
– Total number of sites: 20
– Total unique number of volunteers: 644
– Estimated total number of volunteer hours: 3,918
– Site of greatest volunteer engagement: Thelma Richardson Elementary, averaging 37 parent volunteers each week. Fun fact: These volunteers host a potluck every single week and Thelma Richardson is only in their first year with Brighter Bites! How inspiring is that?!
– Total unique number of external volunteers: 35 – Outstanding Fall 2018 external volunteer group: Sendero Consulting

Volunteers at Truett Elementary School in Dallas, TX

Austin
– Total number of sites: 10
– Total unique number of volunteers: 416
– Estimated total number of volunteer hours: 3,074
– Site of greatest volunteer engagement: Wooten Elementary, averaging 33 volunteers per week
– Total unique number of external volunteers: 24

Volunteers at Pickle Elementary School in Austin, TX

NYC
– Total number of sites: 3
– Total unique number of volunteers: 196
– Estimated total number of volunteer hours: 1,958
– Site of greatest volunteer engagement: P.S. 212, averaging 71 volunteers per week
– Total unique number of external volunteers: 73 – Outstanding fall 2018 external volunteer group: Jetblue

Volunteers at P.S. 212 in Jackson Heights, NY (Queens/NYC)

Washington, D.C.
– Total number of sites: 5
– Total unique number of volunteers: 172
– Estimated total number of volunteer hours: 960
– Site of greatest volunteer engagement: So far this season, Beacon Heights Elementary has greatest number of volunteers, with Cool Spring Elementary currently close behind and on track to have the biggest volunteer turnout by the end of their season! – Total unique number of external volunteers: 5

Volunteers at Adelphi Elementary School in Adelphi, MD (Washington, D.C. metro area)

Southwest Florida
– Total number of sites: 5
– Total unique number of volunteers: 110
– Estimated total number of volunteer hours: 648
– Site of greatest volunteer engagement: Redlands Christian Migrant Association, averaging 18 volunteers per week
– Outstanding Fall 2018 external volunteer group: Collier County Public Schools

Volunteer at Lake Trafford Elementary School in Immokalee, FL

If you add those numbers up, Brighter Bites has been supported this fall by approximately 2,500 unique volunteers across the country for a total of 14,770 volunteer hours! We are blown away by the dedication of our volunteers and thrilled to witness the communities of health they build every single day.

Want to volunteer at a Brighter Bites school near you? Click here to learn more.

Volunteer Opportunities Abound with Brighter Bites

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Christina Blick -

If you’ve been looking for a way to volunteer in your community, consider joining Brighter Bites for a great volunteer experience! Volunteers play a huge role in contributing to our program through produce bagging, produce distribution, and snack prep. The Brighter Bites staff works hard to make each of our three volunteer experiences truly unBEETable! Keep reading to learn about each opportunity and how you can sign up.

As a produce bagging volunteer, you’ll get the opportunity to get your hands dirty and pack bags full of fresh produce for our families. There’s a great sense of community during the bagging process as all volunteers work together to prepare the weekly produce bags, making sure each family receives an equal amount of produce. Brighter Bites staff and volunteers create great friendships through this experience, and staff provide a healthy topic and ideas for the volunteers to try at home on a weekly basis.

As a volunteer during snack prep, you’ll be putting on your apron and working in the kitchen, where you’ll slice, cut, chop, dice, blend, mix and/or stir your way to great kitchen and knife skills. Brighter Bites has a huge library of healthy recipes that volunteers and Brighter Bites staff prepare based on the healthy snack selected each week. Volunteers then pack and label the appropriate servings of the snack for each Brighter Bites school or site. Families have a chance to taste the prepared snack at program distribution and receive the corresponding recipe card in their Brighter Bites bags. Volunteers have the opportunity to learn about new foods, recipes, and healthy eating while also experiencing the great community of working together to prepare delicious and nutritious food.

Finally, as a volunteer at program distribution you’ll be engaging directly with the community and Brighter Bites families. You’ll work side by side with Brighter Bites staff to talk with kids and parents about healthy eating. You’ll help distribute bags full of fresh produce and promote the week’s colorful, bright, and nutritious snack. Seeing the excitement on our families’ faces after trying the snack or seeing the produce in the bag each week is such a rewarding feeling!

All Brighter Bites volunteers help the program provide nutritious recipes, fresh produce, and healthy eating habits to families throughout our communities, ensuring that ‘The Better We Nourish, The Brighter We Flourish’.

Ready to sign up? Click here to view the volunteer opportunities for a Brighter Bites program near you.

Article written by Lauren Jiles
2018 Summer Intern
Houston, Texas

We Love Our Volunteers!

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Christina Blick -

Brighter Bites is powered by the support of thousands of volunteers across the country who help us fulfill the three pillars of our program! At the end of the school year, we enjoy recognizing all those people who have given their time and hard work to the Brighter Bites program at their local school.

Volunteers regularly join Brighter Bites in several capacities, including produce bagging, produce distribution, and healthy recipe preparation. Every volunteer plays a huge role in supporting Brighter Bites, and we are so grateful!

To show our volunteers just how much we appreciate them, we threw them several parties across our Brighter Bites cities!

Check out some snaps from “Brighter Bites Corn-ival” in honor of our amazing Houston volunteers!

Wrapping up a Wonderful Season

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Christina Blick -

Schools around the Dallas area have successfully completed a full season of Brighter Bites, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with great food and the company of all our amazing volunteers. There were nothing but smiling faces at our Uplift Infinity and Joe May Elementary celebrations. We cannot wait to see everyone in the spring!

Humans of Brighter Bites (August 2017, 3 of 3)

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Christina Blick -

“They like Louisiana cooking. Like my oldest, she just started eating crawfish. She was like ‘I like it whether it’s too spicy to hot just right’. She eats Sushi. Yeah, me and her both started eating sushi” Referring to her youngest, “This one, she would eat pasta all day cause that’s all she would eat. Oh, she would eat fruits and vegetables. They would eat green beans and peas and corn mixed together with a little bit of garlic powder. Now, I’m drinking a lot of smoothies, eating a lot of fruits, and vegetables. I do things like my meat is baked or grilled now, it’s not fried. I still do the pasta every now and then. The only time I have a craving for fried food is if I’m homesick. Other than that I don’t have that craving for it then I won’t make it. The only time I have a craving for fried food is if I’m homesick.”

Humans of Brighter Bites is a series that captures how Brighter Bites volunteers, participants, teachers, and supporters connect with food. Check back here for each installment of the current story and each month for a new story.

Humans of Brighter Bites (August 2017, 2 of 3)

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Christina Blick -

“I see a difference in the food between Texas and Louisiana. Back at home we would eat like hot sausage, eggs, smoked sausage. We could just go to the store, buy it and go home and do it ourselves. When I came out here, now it’s different. We couldn’t find it and then like when my dad came to visit, he would bring us this ice chest with hot sausage, smoked sausages like the stuff that we used to make a home they didn’t have it out here until we went to Fiesta and found out Fiesta had it. So we can have a piece of home in Texas.”

Humans of Brighter Bites (August 2017, 1 of 3)

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Christina Blick -

“I’m full born raised in New Orleans. My mom used to prepare red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, dirty rice, cabbage, pasta, crawfish, crabs – all the seafood. I moved to Texas after Katrina. I was a sophomore in High School. Luckily me, my sister, and my cousin was able to get out because my sister was working at a nursing home at the time and so they gave like the employees a room for the family. When they said that New Orleans was flooded, we couldn’t go back home so we wound up going to Vacherie, Louisiana where my dad’s family is at and we stay with them until they were able to get out. When they got out, they went to Alabama to Texas, and then my daddy left Texas to come and pick us up.”

Humans of Brighter Bites (July 2017, 3 of 3)

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Christina Blick -

“I know that diabetes runs in my family. I’m not going to say that I’m really good about what I eat, but for the most part I am aware of it so I do try to make some changes when I can. Now that I have my son, I started to try to get him to eat better. My son honestly does have a problem with being overweight. I tell him what happened when we were growing up and we relied on the commodities. I’m trying to get him to eat vegetables. I am trying to get him to look at things differently. He loves broccoli. He likes celery, cauliflower, and carrots. He doesn’t eat them enough, be he does like them. He loves salads. He is starting to eat better, but we still have to work on that along with myself. I’m aware of the things that are good for me, but I can’t sit here and say that I eat all of the good things. There are things that are more sensible to you at the moment, and with the schedules that we have now, sometimes you just eat on demand.”