Dec 1, 2022

Washington, D.C., residents to receive more produce

Low income Washington, D.C., residents will be receiving more fresh produce. Brighter Bites, a national nonprofit organization that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables directly to families, is expanding its Washington, D.C., area presence. The expansion is expected to affect more than 250 additional families in the capitol region.

Since 2017, Brighter Bites has served families in Prince George’s County, Maryland, but is now expanding its reach to hundreds more families in the D.C. Public Schools District. This year, the organization is serving 16 schools in the county and two in D.C., including Browne Education Campus and Wheatley Education Campus, both in Ward 5 of Washington, D.C.

“My students are over-the-moon when Brighter Bites comes to our school,” Mariah Meads, kindergarten teacher at Browne Education Campus, said in a news release. “They love being able to interact with and learn about a variety of fruits and vegetables in engaging and creative ways. Brighter Bites intentionally curates meaningful learning opportunities to educate and teach students how to have a healthy relationship with the food they put in their bodies, and we couldn’t be happier our students are able to learn this firsthand.”

Brighter Bites’ expansion is made possible through key partners, including 4P Foods, a weekly grocery delivery service in Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland.

“We believe that fresh, healthy, delicious food should be the norm, not the exception, a right, not a privilege,” Tom McDougall, founder and CEO of 4P Foods, said in the release. “Working together with Brighter Bites allows us to build towards that mission with every single delivery. This program not only provides wonderful food to families that might not otherwise have access to it, but it is showing what’s possible when we rethink what the future food system must look like. It is an opportunity to work with a large network of community leaders, families, farmers, educators, children, and others to build towards a better food system. One that is regional, regenerative, equitable, and delicious. We’re honored to be a part of it.”

Since its 2012 start, Brighter Bites has distributed more than 50 million pounds of produce and hundreds of thousands of nutrition education materials to more than 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, according to the release.