Houston, TX – As the first-ever nonprofit recipient of the annual SUNSETRocks event during the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit, Brighter Bites announced today it has raised over $130,000 from nine generous industry sponsors. Mastronardi Produce (SUNSET®) and Enza Zaden are the lead sponsors committing funds, as well as additional matching funds for contributions raised throughout the virtual event. Other sponsors that have committed to matching contributions made during the event include Sunkist, EarthFresh, and H-E-B.
Chelan Fresh, Grimmway Farms, Good Foods, Calavo Foods/ Renaissance Food Group, and New York Apple Sales have also committed to supporting Brighter Bites through the SUNSET® Rocks event as contributing sponsors.
The 2020 SUNSET® Rocks Virtual Party will take place on Tuesday, October 13 at 7:30pm EST as part of PMA’s three-day conference (October 13-15) and will feature a surprise, big-name recording artist. Front-line workers from sponsors who have been so instrumental during the COVID-19 pandemic will also be recognized for their tireless work to keep the food systems moving. Virtual attendees will have the ability to donate to Brighter Bites throughout the entire three-day conference.
“We are so grateful to these organizations whose contributions will support the Brighter Bites mission,” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites. “I would especially like to thank SUNSET® and Enza Zaden for their extraordinary generosity in selecting Brighter Bites as the beneficiary of its 2020 event, as well as PMA for organizing the three-day virtual convening. Every dollar raised during the event will be matched by the sponsors, and will help so many of our families who are in need right now.”
To read more about next week’s Fresh Summit and Sunset® Rocks concert, and to donate funds to Brighter Bites, visit www.sunsetgrown.com, www.pma.com or 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 25 million pounds of produce and 100,000s 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, Southwest Florida, and soon in Salinas, CA. The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) recently named Brighter Bites the winner of the 2018 PHA Impact Award. In 2016, Brighter Bites won the Texas Health Champion Award. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit BrighterBites.org.
