The new initiative, launched in partnership with the Dohmen Company Foundation, establishes a sustainable path to further expand Brighter Bites’ reach across the country
Brighter Bites, a national nonprofit committed to improving the long-term health of children and families, today announced the launch of Brighter Bites 2.0, a new model made possible by a grant from the Dohmen Company Foundation. The initiative builds upon Brighter Bites’ proven and effective three-part formula of produce distributions, nutrition education, and fun food experiences. By shifting to a purchased-produce approach, Brighter Bites 2.0 creates a simple, scalable way to reach more families with fresh food and education. The centerpiece of the program is a preassembled, high-quality produce box that can be delivered to any setting, anywhere.
In addition to fruits and vegetables, each box contains kid-tested and approved recipes, as well as engaging evidence-based nutrition education for the whole family. By combining nutritious food and education into one accessible package, this initiative makes it easier than ever for families to establish healthy eating, cooking, and food shopping habits, contributing to better health and a brighter future.
“Brighter Bites is thrilled to partner with the Dohmen Company Foundation to bring a data-driven, highly scalable model to provide children and their families with a variety of fresh produce coupled with nutrition education in school and at home,” said Brighter Bites Co-Founder, Dr. Shreela Sharma. “This transformative approach allows children everywhere to have consistent access to healthy, fresh foods while also receiving the knowledge on how food impacts health, thus creating healthy habits for life.”
“The Dohmen Company Foundation believes that food is the most powerful tool for improving health,” said Rachel Roller, President and CEO of the Dohmen Company Foundation. “Our partnership with Brighter Bites supports a shared vision of expanding access to nutritious food and giving families the knowledge and resources to live healthier lives. Together, we’re advancing sustainable, food-based solutions that make healthy eating more attainable and help prevent the burden of diet-related disease for generations to come.”
The new model was officially unveiled on October 28 at Wheatley Education Campus in Washington, D.C. The event featured a live unboxing of the Brighter Bites 2.0 Food + Education box and demonstrations of simple, nutritious recipes designed for families to prepare at home.
In addition to serving students at Wheatley Education Campus, Brighter Bites 2.0 is being piloted at Miner Elementary School in Washington, D.C. and at six schools in Prince George’s County, Md. Lessons learned from these initial sites will help inform the model’s continued expansion into additional communities nationwide. For more information about the Brighter Bites Washington-metro program, visit www.brighterbites.org/location/washingtondc, or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube.
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 75 million pounds of produce and millions of nutrition education materials to more than one million individuals (including teachers) in Austin, Bakersfield, Dallas, Greater Philadelphia, Houston, Las Cruces, Phoenix, New York City, Salinas, San Antonio, San Diego, Southwest Florida, and the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan area. To learn more about Brighter Bites, visit www.brighterbites.org.