Keyword/Tag: voucher program

Brighter Bites Releases Results of 2020 Voucher Program

Posted on September 23, 2021 by -

BRIGHTER BITES RELEASES RESULTS OF “2020 VOUCHER PROGRAM” 

The Voucher Program Addressed Food Insecurity for Families Across the Country During the COVID-19 Pandemic to Ensure Access to Fresh Food & Nutrition Education 

HOUSTON (September 23, 2021) – Brighter Bites, a nonprofit organization that delivers fresh fruits, vegetables and nutrition education resources directly into families’ hands, announces the availability of  a report recapping the organization’s efforts surrounding its successful 2020 Voucher Program.

In April of 2020, Brighter Bites implemented its first retail produce voucher program, ensuring families received continued access to produce and nutrition information as schools closed during the pandemic. The whitepaper, authored by Brighter Bites co-founder, Dr. Shreela Sharma and Amier Haidar, MPH, both of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, details the innovative public and private partnerships Brighter Bites established to address food insecurity during COVID-19 with the use of produce vouchers. 

“The information gained and provided by retail partners on the families’ buying preferences will be used to ensure variety in the Brighter Bites program, which tracks the unique produce items provided weekly to families. This variety is strongly linked to program loyalty, ultimately translating to better health choices and outcomes,” said Dr. Shreela Sharma, Professor of Epidemiology at the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, University of Texas School of Public Health. 

Voucher Program Highlights: 

  • 12,482 families received $25 produce vouchers sent bi-weekly
  • Over 43,500 vouchers sent to families in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Southwest Florida and Washington DC
  • $652,295 in retail produce sales were generated with a 60% redemption rate

“All of our Brighter Bites families rely on food distribution at schools, so when everything began shutting down at the onset of the pandemic, we knew we had to respond to ensure our families were taken care of,” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites. “We’re thankful to the retail partners and other volunteers who stepped up to help make this initiative possible, ultimately infusing over $650,000 in produce purchases into the retail setting. This was a real win-win as it brought customers to retail and allowed our partners to be part of the health solutions in the communities they are in.”  

Families received 25-dollar vouchers to use at partner grocery stores with the freedom to select produce that had become family favorites after repeated exposure through the Brighter Bites program. A few of the most selected items purchased using the vouchers were peppers, citrus, bananas, tomatoes, berries, avocados, mangoes, onions, and corn.  

The Brighter Bites 2020 Voucher Program whitepaper report may be downloaded here. To learn more about Brighter Bites, visit brighterbites.org, or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or YouTube. 

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About Brighter Bites:

Brighter Bites is a nonprofit that creates communities of health through fresh food with the goal of changing behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. Brighter Bites is an evidence-based, multi-component elementary school, preschool, and summer camp program that utilizes reliable access to fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and consistent exposure to recipes and messages that feature fresh food. Since 2012, Brighter Bites has provided over 40 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than 475,000 individuals (including teachers) in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, and Southwest Florida. In February 2021 Brighter Bites expanded its programming to Salinas, California. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit www.brighterbites.org.

 

Produce Business: Q&A with Rich Dachman on Fundraiser, Programming, COVID-19

Posted on May 14, 2020 by -

 

 

While Brighter Bites Steps Up With Retail Voucher Program And Participation In USDA’s Farmers-To-Families Food Box Project, Produce Industry Heroes Are Needed To Provide Product, Distribution And Funding

By Mira Slott, Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor, Perishable Pundit, Produce Business, May 14, 2020

It has been a long time since our first mention of Rich Dachman in the Pundit:

Dachman To Head Sysco’s Produce Division

But we’ve remained engaged:

2018 London Produce Show’s Thought-Leader Breakfast Features All-Star Cast Of Industry Luminaries

Foodservice Forum At New York Produce Show Puts Produce First On Restaurant Menus

Set Your Alarm For Wednesday, December 7, As 10 Heavyweight Thought Leaders Take The Stage At New York Produce Show’s Keynote Breakfast

Industry Veterans And Rising Stars Volunteer To Lead University Interchange Mentorship Program

“IDEATION FRESH” Foodservice Forum At New York Produce Show And Conference To Tackle Produce Procurement ‘Disconnects’

Now, at this moment of pandemic, a lifetime of preparation has put Rich in a situation where he can do a lot of good for the world.

We asked Pundit Investigator and Special Projects Editor Mira Slott to find out how.

Read the rest of the story here.

Press Release: Brighter Bites Announces Wine for a Cause Fundraiser

Posted on May 5, 2020 by -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brighter Bites Announces Wine for a Cause, an Auction to Raise Funds to Ensure Families Receive Fresh Produce During COVID-19 Crisis 

PMA to Co-Host Online Wine Auction to Take Place Memorial Day Weekend

 

Newark, Del. – (May 5, 2020) – Brighter Bites is actively raising funds to ensure families are able to access healthy, nutritious food during this time of unprecedented need. To kick off this campaign, Brighter Bites will host Wine for a Cause, a virtual wine silent auction, taking place Memorial Day weekend, May 22 – 25, 2020. The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has signed on as co-host of the event in support of these efforts.

Proceeds from this event will support Brighter Bites’ new emergency initiative aimed at ensuring that families who are currently enrolled in Brighter Bites have the opportunity to access fresh produce when they need it most. Brighter Bites is giving $25 produce vouchers bi-weekly to Brighter Bites households for fruit and vegetable purchases over the next two-three months. This initiative will ensure no Brighter Bites family has to forfeit health or safety in order to survive this crisis.

Brighter Bites kicked off the program in Houston and Austin in partnership with the Texas grocery retailer H-E-B, and soon followed with rollouts in Southwest Florida in partnership with Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Winn-Dixie stores.

With a goal of raising $150,000 between auction proceeds and financial contributions, Wine for a Cause will help ensure that Brighter Bites can support and expand this voucher system in its other cities in the coming months. For those interested in participating in the auction as a bidder, registration is now open. Please visit this link to register for the event.

“Brighter Bites’ Wine for a Cause began as an idea that Kent Shoemaker and I developed because of our mutual love for wine and our one common goal: to help at-risk families access the healthy food they need to survive this crisis.” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites. “What began with a few bottles of wine offered from personal collections has exploded. There are some amazing wines on this list now. I think this event will be a lot of fun, and I think we all need that right now.”

Brighter Bites has already received over 100 different lots of wine from some of the finest collections in the world, mostly owned by produce industry leaders whose passion for wine and improving the health of food-insecure families have come together for this fundraiser.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, 25,000 families nationwide were enrolled in the Brighter Bites program across 100 schools, with each family receiving 25 pounds of fresh produce and nutrition education on a weekly basis. Then COVID-19 hit, schools shuttered, and families lost access to this fresh produce they were dependent on for daily nourishment.

“As districts closed in response to the COVID-19 crisis, many children across the U.S. lost access to their primary source of nutrition, while others lost this plus the Brighter Bites fruit and vegetable distribution. At a time when many are hurting and hungry, we need to do whatever we can to ensure families and communities have fresh fruits and vegetables on their plates,” said PMA CEO Cathy Burns.

About Brighter Bites:

Brighter Bites is a nonprofit that creates communities of health through fresh food with the goal of changing behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. Brighter Bites is an evidence-based, multi-component elementary school, preschool, and summer camp program that utilizes reliable access to fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and consistent exposure to recipes and messages that feature fresh food. Since 2012, Brighter Bites has provided more than 27 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than 275,000 individuals (including teachers) in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, and Southwest Florida. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit www.brighterbites.org.

About the Produce Marketing Association:

Produce Marketing Association (PMA) is the leading trade association representing companies from every segment of the global produce and floral supply chain. PMA helps members grow by providing connections that expand business opportunities and increase sales and consumption. For more information, visit www.pma.com.

 

This story was published in the following media outlets:

ANUK: Brighter Bites Launches Produce Voucher Program with H-E-B, Winn-Dixie

Posted on April 27, 2020 by -

 

April 27, 2020

By Lillian Diep, And Now U Know

HOUSTON, TX – The current public health crisis has brought much uncertainty to our lives, but is especially magnified for those who are food insecure. However, in times like these, heroes in the industry are teaming up to provide fresh produce to those in need. Brighter Bites has formed partnerships with H-E-B, Southeastern Grocers, and Winn-Dixie to provide $25 produce vouchers bi-weekly to every Brighter Bites household for fruit and vegetable purchases.

Read the rest of the story on the And Now U Know website.

 

 

Press Release: Brighter Bites Launches Produce Voucher Program

Posted on April 23, 2020 by -

Brighter Bites Launches Produce Voucher Program to Continue to Support Food Insecure Families during Coronavirus Pandemic                  Nonprofit rolls out $2 million COVID-19 relief program

Houston, TX (April 23, 2020) – The combined public health crisis and economic collapse inflicting our nation has brought much uncertainty to all of our lives, but is especially magnified for those who identify as food insecure. With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis and widespread school closures, 25,000 families in Houston, Austin, New York City, Washington, D.C. and Southwest Florida who normally rely on nonprofit Brighter Bites for weekly produce and nutrition education are now in even more need of daily nourishment. These are families who already struggle to make ends meet.

Today, Brighter Bites is announcing a new, emergency initiative aimed at ensuring that all families who are currently enrolled in Brighter Bites around the U.S. have the opportunity to access fresh produce when they need it most.

Brighter Bites is rolling out the initiative this week for 14,100 families In Houston and Austin in partnership with the Texas grocery retailer H-E-B and next week for 1,100 families in Southwest Florida with Southeastern Grocers, parent company of Winn-Dixie stores.

Brighter Bites is giving $25 produce vouchers bi-weekly to every Brighter Bites household for fruit and vegetable purchases over the next two-three months at H-E-B and Winn-Dixie stores. This initiative will ensure no Brighter Bites family has to forfeit health or safety in order to survive this crisis.

“This is a time that our families need healthy food more than ever to boost their immune systems. When schools closed and our distribution model was interrupted we knew we had to pivot our business,” said Brighter Bites CEO Rich Dachman. “Brighter Bites will continue providing our families with fruits and vegetables through this program, allowing them to maintain the same level of produce in their homes as they did through Brighter Bites distributions. We could not have executed this program without the partnership of H-E-B, Southeastern Grocers, and Winn-Dixie. We are so grateful for their support.”

Dachman added Brighter Bites will convert its online nutrition education programs to a distance learning model.

Under normal circumstances, Brighter Bites works with their families across 100 plus schools in six cities, with each family receiving 25 pounds of fresh, seasonal produce and nutrition education on a weekly basis. Brighter Bites families were actively engaged in the program, and data shows that they were consuming significantly more fresh produce and talking about nutrition more often in their homes, too.

To sustain this program for all Brighter Bites families for the next two to three months, the nonprofit will need to raise additional funding to continue issuing produce vouchers to families until this crisis subsides. To make a donation please visit www.brighterbites.org.

About Brighter Bites:

Brighter Bites is a nonprofit that creates communities of health through fresh food with the goal of changing behavior among children and their families to prevent obesity and achieve long-term health. Brighter Bites is an evidence-based, multi-component elementary school, preschool, and summer camp program that utilizes reliable access to fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and consistent exposure to recipes and messages that feature fresh food. Since 2012, Brighter Bites has provided more than 27 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than 275,000 individuals (including teachers) in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, and Southwest Florida. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit www.brighterbites.org.

This story was published in the following publications: