NEW YORK – Brighter Bites, a national nonprofit that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables directly into families’ hands, announces Gabriela D’Arrigo, VP of Communications and Marketing at D’Arrigo New York, as its newest board member.
“We are honored to welcome Gabriela as the newest member to our board,” said Rich Dachman, chief executive officer at Brighter Bites. “She and the D’Arrigo family have been large supporters of our work over the years and in helping us make a difference in the communities we serve. Our relationship is a wonderful example of when the produce industry locks arms with us in order to make healthy changes in lives across the country.”
D’Arrigo, a family owned and operated fresh fruits and vegetables supplier serving the Northeast since 1948, has been a Brighter Bites partner following the organization’s launch in NYC schools in 2018. The company has donated a variety of unique fruits and vegetables to the New York programming produce bags and boxes, including plums, mangos, dragon fruit, pumpkins, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, and kiwi.
In addition to donating produce, D’Arrigo advocates for Brighter Bites’ work and mission with consistent involvement in fresh produce industry networking events. Through this type of support, Brighter Bites has been able to connect with key members of the industry to continue growing its program base.
“Gabriela has been instrumental to Brighter Bites programming since we began our efforts in New York,” said Shey Hall, northeast regional director at Brighter Bites. “She is always thinking about Brighter Bites and how she can bring us into conversations and present us with opportunities to further expand our mission.”
“I’ve said this before, but I will say it again, this is the only organization I’ve seen that has the vision and the ability to execute and deliver it,” said Gabriela D’Arrigo, VP of Communications and Marketing at D’Arrigo. “It’s an honor and a privilege to join the Brighter Bites team and have the opportunity to contribute to its future goals.”
Since launching in 2012, Brighter Bites has distributed more than 50 million pounds of produce and hundreds of thousands of nutrition education materials to over 500,000 individuals through schools, after school programs and summer camps in the cities in which it serves. Brighter Bites uses a simple formula for introducing healthy lifestyles to families: produce distribution, nutrition education, and a fun food experience that helps to demystify produce and show just how great it can taste.
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 50 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than 500,000 individuals (including teachers) in Houston, Dallas, Austin, New York City, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, Southwest Florida, Salinas, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and San Antonio. To learn more about Brighter Bites, visit www.brighterbites.org.
