Our Process

Eight steps to Brighter Bites.

Step 1

Engage
Communities

Step 2

Select the
Week’s Variety

Step 3

Load Up!

Step 4

Bag the
Produce

Step 5

Teach
Brighter Choices

Step 6

Sample
& Share

Step 7

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

brighterbites

1,619

Our Process

Engage Communities

Select the Week’s Variety

Load Up!

Bag the Produce

Teach Brighter Choices

Sample & Share

Take Home the Fun

Replicate

Engage

Select

Load

Bag

Teach

Sample

Take

Replicate

Engage Communities

Select the Week’s Variety

Load Up!

Bag the Produce

Teach Brighter Choices

Sample & Share

Take Home the Fun

Replicate

brighterbites

The Fruit Loop

Engage
Communities

Select the
Week’s Variety

Bag the
Produce

Teach
Brighter Choices

Sample
& Share

Take Home
the Fun

Engage
Communities

Select the
Week’s Variety

Bag the
Produce

Teach
Brighter Choices

Sample
& Share

Take Home
the Fun