Brighter Bites partners with the Andy Roddick Foundation (ARF) Summer Learning Program in Austin, TX to provide produce distribution, nutrition education, and a fun food experience to students during the summer months. Founder and chair of ARF (and former tennis champion) Andy Roddick sat down to talk about ARF’s mission, effect, importance in our community, and gave Brighter Bites a shout out! Watch the Austin CBS affiliate station interview here.
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.
In Austin, TX we have a small but committed team working together to create communities of health through fresh food.
Brighter Bites Austin staff: L to R Bethany, Jamela, Shelby, Victoria, Veronica, Maggie, Lori, Wendy, Rebeca
The team is led by Program Director Maggie Mangrum, MPH, who has been with Brighter Bites since January 2016. Maggie has led our growth across Austin and forged many new friendships and partnerships with organizations and produce providers across the city. We’re so lucky to have her leadership!
Program Manager Bethany Dawson (L) and Program Director Maggie Mangrum (R)
Bethany Dawson, MPH, has been with Brighter Bites since its first Austin season in the summer of 2015. Bethany moved into her current role a year and a half ago as program manager and additionally manages our internship and volunteer programs. We’re so grateful for all the hard work Bethany has contributed over the years to introduce our program to as many new helpers as we can!
We’re fortunate to have a team of three dedicated program coordinators who together help us create communities of health in all our schools.
Program Associate Veronica Cabrera, Program Coordinator Shelby Koebley, and Intern Victoria Neeranjan (L to R) show off some brightly colored produce!
Shelby Koebley is our most senior program coordinator and leads the Austin “Fun Food Experience”. Shelby joined Brighter Bites around the same time that we moved into our current work space with Farmhouse Delivery and as our kitchen manager has helped foster our great friendship with Farmhouse’s kitchen and warehouse staff.
Program Coordinator Rebeca Hernandez Gonzalez (center), posing with Program Associate Lori Hoadley (L) and Intern Wendy Snowden (R) during “Do the Hula Salsa” week.
Rebeca Hernandez Gonzalez, RDN, was first introduced to Brighter Bites as a dietetic intern in the summer of 2017 and joined the team full time as a program coordinator in the summer of 2018 after graduating with her RDN. Rebeca currently uses her expertise to serve as our nutrition education coordinator.
L to R: Program Coordinator Rebeca Hernandez Gonzalez, Intern Wendy Snowden, Program Coordinator Jamala Mavrakis, and Program Associate Lori Hoadley
Jamela Mavrakis joined Brighter Bites in December of 2018 as a program coordinator and has quickly become an invaluable member of the team by coordinating the Austin volunteer experience as well as leading the new schools that joined Brighter Bites this past spring!
We are incredibly grateful for our three amazing program associates who support our coordinators across the city.
Program Associate Lori Hoadley
Lori Hoadley joined the team with a background in customer service and great experience with conflict resolution that has had a wonderfully calming effect on the team and on our volunteers! Lori will join us this summer and next school year, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her on board for another season.
L to R: Veronica Cabrera, Shelby Koebley, Lori Hoadley
Veronica Cabrera was introduced to Brighter Bites in the summer of 2018 as a counselor at one of our summer sites. As a former classmate of Rebeca, Veronica connected with the program and joined our staff that fall. She makes such a positive impact on the volunteers and kids at our schools, and we’re so excited that she’ll be joining us again for programming in the 2019/2020 school year.
The Austin staff simulating a distribution. L to R: Shelby Koebley, Maggie Whittington, Rebeca Hernandez Gonzalez, Veronica Cabrera, & Mari Garza-Aguirre
Mari Garza-Aguirre was an amazing associate who worked with us last fall. Mari’s experience mentoring youth through the Gus Garcia Recreation Center, which coincidentally is one of our new program sites this summer, added a unique perspective to our team.
Our Austin team was also supported this past year by three fieldwork interns. We hope our interns enjoyed their experience as much as we enjoyed having them on our team!
Intern Wendy Snowden
Wendy Snowden, a biology and nutrition student at UT Austin, has been interning with Brighter Bites since June 2018 and has been absolutely wonderful in the field with our families. This spring, her research project was to gather recipe ideas from families to support the improvement of our recipe development and recipe bank.
Intern Victoria Neeranjan
Victoria Neeranjan joined our internship program last fall to complete her degree in nutrition from Texas State University. Even though she graduated in December, we’re so appreciative that Victoria stayed on with Brighter Bites throughout the spring as well! Victoria has worked to improve our collection of nutrition games that makes up a portion of our signature “Fun Food Experience”.
Intern Carolyn Haskins
Carolyn Haskins interned with Brighter Bites last fall to gain experience with a nutrition nonprofit during her last semester of graduate school at Texas State University, where she graduated with a Master of Science in Nutrition. Carolyn earned the trust of our students and parents alike and was a pro at encouraging students to try our produce-packed recipes each week!
Director of Marketing and Communications Stefanie Cousins
The Brighter Bites Austin team wouldn’t be complete without Director of Marketing and Communications Stefanie Cousins, MPH. While a member of the national team that headquarters in Houston, Stefanie offices with the programming team in Austin at the Farmhouse Delivery office space, often joined by her new pup Daisy. Stefanie is a one-woman show, overseeing all corporate communications, strategic marketing, and branding for Brighter Bites across the country. Fun fact: Stefanie launched the Brighter Bites program in Austin in the summer of 2015. The Austin team wouldn’t be complete without her!
Thanks again to all the wonderful ladies who’ve helped make Brighter Bites a success in Austin, TX!