Our Process
Eight steps to Brighter Bites.
Step 1
Engage
Step 2
Select the
Select the
Week’s Variety
Step 3
Load Up!
Step 4
Bag the
Bag the
Produce
Step 5
Teach
Teach
Brighter Choices
Step 6
Sample
Sample
& Share
Step 7
Take Home
Take Home
the Fun
Step 8
Replicate
Engage
Select
Load
Bag
Teach
Sample
Take
Replicate
Step One
Engage
Communities
It all starts with the right relationships. We engage schools, communities, and partners and introduce them to our Brighter Bites model: produce distribution + nutrition education + a fun food experience.
From local farmers to leading university researchers, teachers to three-generation families, it takes teamwork to build a culture of health. Brighter Bites was built to scale, and we make it as easy as possible for communities. To see the cities we serve, click here.
We have replicated our proven formula across the country
HEALTHY CHANGE: LOCALLY SOWN, NATIONALLY GROWN
Step Two
Select the
Week’s Variety
Our produce suppliers donate fresh fruits and vegetables to our partnering food banks. Each week, our staff chooses 8 to 12 different types of produce from the huge warehouse coolers, and the food is specially tagged for Brighter Bites.
Working closely with leaders like Sysco not only helps us ensure that a wide variety of fruits and vegetables are available for Brighter Bites, but also that the food meets stringent standards of safety, quality, and traceable tastiness—no matter its shape or size!
WE CHOOSE OUR PRODUCE AS CAREFULLY AS WE CHOOSE OUR PARTNERS
WE EMBRACE THE UNFAMILIAR, FROM SWISS CHARD TO STARFRUIT
Step Three
Load Up!
Massive pallets teeming with bags and cases of fresh produce for Brighter Bites are loaded by warehouse staff into a large box truck. It is hard work: each truckload can feed hundreds of families. Interested in becoming a produce partner? Visit our Produce Partners page.
Each pallet carries 1500 lbs of fresh produce
The truck can hold 8-10 pallets (enough to feed 400 families!)
Step Four
Bag the
Produce
Once the truck arrives at the site, it is typically unloaded into a gym or cafeteria. Unified in our bright red t-shirts, Brighter Bites staff, parents, and community volunteers work as an assembly line to unpack and divide the variety of produce into bags. Hungry to help? Sign up to volunteer here.
Each family and teacher receives two bags of fresh fruits and vegetables. Staples like potatoes, onions, carrots, and apples are typically included—along with unique seasonal picks that give families the chance to take home top crops like kale, kiwi, beets, plums, or rutabaga.
TWO BAGS OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES PER FAMILY
200-800 BAGS WILL BE LINED UP ONCE THE PROCESS IS COMPLETE
Step Five
Teach
Brighter Choices
Also added into the bags are nutrition handbooks, tip sheets, and recipes that incorporate that week’s fresh produce. These bilingual materials are chock full of helpful info and advice, from kitchen safety to smarter snacking to making a healthier menu. Download our mobile app here for our full library.
All educational materials are linked to children’s in-class nutrition lessons from CATCH and other evidence-based, coordinated school health programs that we help implement via our specially-trained staff.
Nearly 100 bilingual recipes exist in our database
We provide evidence-based nutrition education curriculum for our schools
Step Six
Sample
& Share
Let the fun food experience begin! Our team prepares healthy, tasty “brighter bites” for families to sample, using one or more of the produce items being shared that week.
Kids and their families taste new dips, soups, snacks, main dishes, and more. We provide that recipe and more tips and tools to our families through the app. Download our mobile app here for our full library.
OUR SIGNATURE SAMPLES ARE CONCOCTED BY IN-HOUSE NUTRITIONISTS
FROM APPLES TO ZUCCHINI, WE CAN HELP YOU WITH ALL OF THE A-Z'S OF ENJOYING PRODUCE
Step Seven
Take Home
the Fun
When all is said and done, each family and teacher walks away with a pair of bags that contain approximately 50 servings of fresh, seasonal produce, plus tips and tools for how to use it.
For one week for a family of four, that’s two extra servings of fruits and vegetables a day—at no extra cost to our participating families.
Light fare, heavy load: one set of bags = 20-25 lbs
2 extra servings of fruits & vegetables a day
At no extra cost
Step Eight
Replicate
This process repeats for 16 weeks during the school year and 8 weeks during the summer. Our scalable co-op model allows us to bring Brighter Bites to more schools and camps each season, creating a culture of health wherever we go. Interested in bringing Brighter Bites to your community? Visit our Partner page
REPLICATED DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AND SUMMERS
WE'VE PASSED OUT MILLIONS OF POUNDS OF PRODUCE TO THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES
Brighter Minds Start with Brighter Bites!💡🍎
Give the gift of produce and nutrition education today!
www.justgiving.com/campaign/brighterbites
#BrighterMindsBrighterBites
Do you LOVE fresh produce as much as we do? 🥬🥔🌽
Do you LOVE sharing the joy of fresh produce with others?💚
Join our mission today in creating communities of health through fresh food! See how you can participate here ➡️ brighterbites.org/participate
#BrighterBites #FreshProduce #Nonprofit #Volunteer
Teamwork makes the dream work! 🤩 Our Houston team is ready to serve, and we are so grateful for our volunteers who come and make it happen! 👏👏
Interested in joining? Sign up today! brighterbites.org/volunteer
@brighterbiteshou #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesHouston #Nonprofit #Volunteer
Showing lots of love to @HEB for your partnership and your generosity in donating to our program! Thank you for continuing to support our work in creating communities of health through fresh food!
#ThankfulThursday #BrighterBites #HEB #FreshProduce #Fruits #Vegetables
The results are in from the @Target Circle Guest-Directed Giving program!
We are excited to share that guests at Target stores cast 92,424 votes to Brighter Bites, resulting in a generous donation from Target to Brighter Bites! Most importantly, thank you for voting for our mission and the impact we have on the community!
We are CRAZY for coconuts! 🥥🥥🥥Coconut water, coconut milk, shredded coconut, coconut meat, and more! 🧉🥛🍛🍚🍨How do you like to eat coconut?
@brighterbitesaustin #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesAustin #Coconut #Coconuts #FreshProduce
We are getting closer to our goal of $50,000, and we need YOU to help us meet our goal!
Every dollar of our Brighter Minds Start with Brighter Bites campaign goes directly to serve our families with fresh produce, nutrition education, and healthy tips and tools! Join our mission today!➡️
www.justgiving.com/campaign/brighterbites
#BrighterMindsBrighterBites
Today, on Indigenous Peoples' Day we commend the rich history, culture, and people of the Native American/Indigenous community. On this day, let us all acknowledge the contributions of indigenous people and celebrate!
#IndigenousPeoplesDay
Kiwi always brings us the good fuzzy feelings! 😉💚
What fruit makes you smile?
Thank you @imperfectfoods for this delicious and sweet donation!
#BrighterBites #BrighterBitesAustin #FreshProduce #Fruits #Kiwi
@brighterbitesaustin
DC programming is underway, and our team is beyond excited to be back! 🤩🎉🥦
And we have berry exciting news! We've teamed up with @4PFoods to help make it happen! Read more about our partnership at the link in our bio!
Want to join the fun? Sign up to volunteer with us today! https://brighterbites.org/volunteer/
@brighterbitesdc #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesDC #FreshProduce #Nonprofit #Volunteer
🌅Sunshine is in the forecast for our Brighter Bites distributions in Southwest Florida!
Thank you @publix Super Market Charities for your generous donation in support of our program to deliver produce to the families we serve! Your donation makes a bright impact!
@brighterbites_swfl #BrighterBites #BrighterBitesSWFL
#ThankfulThursday #FreshProduce #Fruits #Vegetables #NutritionEducation #FunFoodExperience #Nonprofit
Happy Wellness Wednesday! Our founder, Lisa Helfman, was a featured guest on our friend @theproducemoms Lori Taylor's podcast! Listen in to here more about our story, our work, and our mission to demystify produce! 🍎
Link in bio!
Are you ready to make an impact?
Your donation provides families with direct access to fresh fruits and vegetable, nutrition education, and healthy tips and tools. Join our campaign today!
www.justgiving.com/campaign/brighterbites
#BrighterMindsBrighterBites
Show your support for Brighter Bites and cast your vote every day through October 10! ☑️🗞
Each year, the @houstonchron awards up to $1,000,000 worth of in-kind advertising in the Houston Chronicle newspaper and on Chron.com through the $1 Million Charity Ad Giveaway.
Readers can vote once per day for their favorite charity to add $100 per vote towards the selected charity's ad bank, so show your support by voting daily until October 10!
Link in bio!
🍊🙌Raising our hands for these beautiful clementines!
For some kids, summer can equate to an empty stomach without guaranteed school meals. Thank you to LGS Sales/ @darlingcitrus, a company that cares, for both helping to raise awareness of this problem and helping us to provide a solution! As a result of the Brighter Summer Sweepstakes this back to school season, over 5,000 pounds of citrus were donated to communities in need of fresh and nutritious foods! That means 1,800 families across 12 schools in the Austin and Dallas received these these sweet treats!
Interested in joining our mission as a produce partner? See how you can get involved here! brighterbites.org/produce-partners
All smiles, all the time! 😃🍅
What fruit or veggie makes you smile?
#WorldSmileDay #BrighterBites #FreshProduce #Fruits #Vegetables
Brighter Bites is making BIG impact across the country, and we want you to join us! 🤩 Did you know that your donation makes a direct impact on our families?
Your donation of $25, $50, $100 goes toward providing direct access to fresh fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and healthy tips and tools for families nationally!
We are getting closer to our goal of raising $50,000! For every dollar donated until October 31st, it will be matched up to $50,000. Donate today and be a part of our mission to create communities of health through fresh food this school year! 🍓🥑🍊🥭
Link in bio on how you can give!
#BrighterMindsBrighterBites #BrighterBites #BackToSchool2021
Is there anything sweeter than homemade pancakes? Homemade sweet potato pancakes! 🥞🍠
See for yourself! ➡️ https://brighterbites.org/recipe/sweet-potato-pancakes/
#NationalPancakeDay #SweetPotatoPancakes #BrighterBites #HealthyRecipe #HealthyEating #HealthyCooking #FreshProduce #Vegetables
Did you know that a healthy diet can impact a student's academic performance, energy, and focus?
Let's get this school year off to a healthy start for kids across the country! Your donation makes a direct impact on the families we serve-Brighter Bites provides free access to fresh fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and healthy tips and tools to thousands of families across the country.
We cannot wait to partner with you in our mission of creating communities of health through fresh food! Link in bio!
#BrighterMindsBrighterBites #BrighterBites
Looking for some healthy lunchbox ideas? We've got you covered! 🍱🥪🍎
Easy, portable lunchbox ideas ➡️
• Sandwiches or rollups using peanut butter or lean deli meat like turkey on a whole wheat pita 🥙
• String cheese, yogurt, hard-boiled egg, hummus, and tuna salad are great snacks 🧀🥚
• Easily-transportable fruits and veggies: apples, bananas, baby carrots, celery sticks,
cherry tomatoes, grapes, or berries 🍎🍌🍇
• Almonds or other nuts and dried fruit make an energy packed and nutritious treat 🥜
#HealthyLunchbox #BackToSchool2021 #BrighterBites #FreshProduce #Fruits #Vegetables