The Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB), the prestigious nonprofit known for their cutting-edge research and innovative programming, held their annual conference July 20 to July 24, 2020. Originally tapped to be held in San Diego this year, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, SNEB transitioned their annual conference to a virtual event hosted entirely on https://www.sneb.org/2020.
Since its inception in 1968, SNEB has been one of the most renowned international communities of professionals actively involved in nutrition education and health promotion. Their membership comes from those who work in colleges, universities and schools, government agencies, cooperative extension, communications and public relations firms, the food industry, voluntary and service organizations, and with other reliable places of nutrition and health education information. The theme for this year’s conference was “What Food Future”, and Brighter Bites and The Produce Moms were part of the Healthy Children and Youth Sessions: Combining new educational strategies with improvements to child nutrition programs to help preschoolers through college students obtain and sustain health.
This year’s SNEB conference chair, Pamela Koch, EdD, RD Research Associate Professor and Executive Director of the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food Education & Policy Program in Nutrition, Department of Health & Behavior Studies, Teachers College, Columbia University stated, “We were delighted to have Brighter Bites and The Produce Moms present at our conference. We know that many Americans, as well as many around the globe, cannot afford and do not have access to, fruits and vegetables that are vital to be well nourished. The amazing work of Brighter Bites and The Produce Moms is working toward everyone eating more fruits and veggies, especially communities that have limited access due to entrenched systemic racism and social injustice.” To view the full presentation by Brighter Bites and The Produce Moms The Future of Food in Schools: Rounding Out What’s Already Being Done in the School Cafeteria click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11GRdgegxvHWbLOihazO0U-TPb3ZnIxdb/view?ts=5f17b49e
Lori Taylor, CEO and Founder of The Produce Moms emphasized that, “We pitched our presentation to SNEB 2020, to ensure that fresh produce was part of the conversation about the future of food in schools. The presentation that Dr. Sharma and I gave to the professionals at SNEB was a great way to provide these leaders in nutrition academia and research with a better understanding of the role we play in providing nutrition and health education programs to families. Brighter Bites and The Produce Moms both share a mission that fruits and vegetables can change the world with Brighter Bites focused on creating healthy school communities in underserved neighborhoods through fresh produce, and The Produce Moms, as a wellness brand in the digital community for fresh fruits and vegetables and promoter of public policy to protect and increase the availability of fresh produce in public schools.”
Dr. Shreela Sharma, co-founder of Brighter Bites, Professor of Epidemiology at UTHealth School of Public Health, and a trained dietitian explained, “Through the presentation that Brighter Bites and The Produce Moms delivered at SNEB 2020, we were able to demonstrate, to a very respected, influential group of nutrition educators, researchers and practitioners, how our organizations are eliminating the perception of intimidation by produce and demystifying how to buy and prepare fresh fruits and vegetables. We were able to tell the story of the impact Brighter Bites is having on child and parent produce consumption to reduce food insecurity and ultimately improve child health.”
# # #
About THE PRODUCE MOMS
The Produce Moms® is the first & only consumer brand that drives sales and consumption of fresh produce. Founded by Lori Taylor, we are a community of passionate fresh produce advocates with a mission to inspire everyone, especially children, to eat more fruits and vegetables. Our purpose is to make sure that all moms know that fresh produce is SAFE and HEALTHY. The Produce Moms educates consumers about fresh produce, introduces them to produce brands, engages the produce industry with consumers in inspiring conversations, and promotes public policy to protect and increase the availability of fresh produce at American schools. We are a purpose-driven brand with values that support the journey from seed to smile. The Produce Moms digital content platform, podcast, television appearances, and consumer products reach millions per month and support our mission to increase produce consumption in both volume & variety. Visit http://www.theproducemoms.com for more information.
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 http://www.brighterbites.org.
