Brighter Bites announces the launch of its 12th location in Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Brighter Bites will serve six schools within the Bensalem Township School District, which will directly impact close to 900 families and provide approximately 144,000 pounds of fresh produce to its participants. In addition to delivering fresh fruits and vegetables, the program will also include recipe demonstrations and in-class nutrition education lessons, equipping families and students with hands-on strategies to make the most of their produce and support a healthier lifestyle.
“Brighter Bites’ health and wellness lessons along with twice-monthly fresh produce distribution perfectly align with our mission in Bensalem to serve the “whole child” and to support our district initiatives for staff and students’ wellbeing,” said Victoria Velazquez, Ed.D, Assistant to the Superintendent-K-12 Administration at Bensalem Township School District. “This program exemplifies our district’s commitment to fostering a supportive and caring community for our children. The proven, lifelong impact on student and family outcomes reinforces our shared vision of coming together to create healthier futures for all.”
This launch was made possible through funding from SNAP-Ed Pennsylvania, which provides funding to nutrition education initiatives across the state, as well as founding partner, Sharing Excess. The first distribution in Bensalem begins the week of February 3 and will continue each week through the end of the school year with summer programming to follow.
“We are incredibly excited to launch in Greater Philadelphia and expand our reach in the Northeast,” said Rich Dachman, CEO of Brighter Bites. “With the support of SNAP-Ed Pennsylvania and Sharing Excess, we are able to offer not just fresh produce, but the nutrition education and resources that help people live healthier lives long term.”
To learn more about Brighter Bites and ways to partner with the nonprofit, visit brighterbites.org, or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X or YouTube for more.
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 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 Austin, Bakersfield, Dallas, Greater Philadelphia, Houston, Las Cruces, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York City, Salinas, San Antonio, Southwest Florida, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area. To learn more about Brighter Bites visit www.brighterbites.org.
