HOUSTON – Brighter Bites, a nonprofit organization that delivers fresh fruits, vegetables and nutrition education resources directly into families’ hands, announces the release of its 2020 annual report. Readers can expect to see Brighter Bites’ nutrition education numbers, a breakdown of financials, impact information, and a look back at 2020 with upcoming plans for 2021.
Key highlights found within the report:
- 12 million pounds of food distributed to almost 30,000 families in the six major cities they serve
- 27,147 nutrition education lessons and activities taught in classrooms
- $8,737,417 in-kind produce donations
“We’re proud and thankful to be able to share a great report that reflects the team’s hard work and efforts over the past year,” said Lisa Helfman, founder of Brighter Bites. “Despite new protocols in place for COVID-19, we were able to work with our amazing partners around the country to ensure fresh food was available for children and their families when they needed it the most.”
During 2020, Brighter Bites implemented the following strategies and activations:
- Set emergency steps in response to COVID-19
- Hosted its first-ever virtual fundraising event and raised over $100,000
- Implemented a retail produce voucher program to ensure families received continued access to produce during the pandemic
- Recorded 8 million pounds of produce donated over the summer
- Released new mobile app to better connect with families and volunteers
- Teed up the launch of the Salinas, CA program
“We were inspired by the dedication of our volunteers and partners who really stepped up to help support the Brighter Bites mission, and the families and children in each community that we serve,” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites.
Brighter Bites’ 2020 annual report can 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 nearly 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.
