Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas grants Brighter Bites $40,000

Houston-based nonprofit Brighter Bites received a $40,000 grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, in collaboration with Feeding America, to expand Texas programming.

The grant helped Brighter Bites reach its goal to operate within 90 Texas schools, according to a news release.

This money enables safe distribution of almost 100,000 pre-packed boxes containing more than 1.8 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as thousands of nutrition education materials. The boxes included 112 different produce varieties and year-end survey instruments for families around issues of food insecurity, nutrition and healthy habits. Teacher questionnaires were also launched, partly because of this funding.

This grant also made a significant impact during the second half of the 2020-2021 school year, supporting Brighter Bites programming in four additional Dallas schools. These new schools allowed the Dallas program to enroll 908 new children and their families, and distribute 3,920 boxes of produce totaling 84,635 pounds, along with thousands of nutrition education materials, according to a news release.

“This generous grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas allowed us to increase the total number of Texas students and families we serve, bringing our new Texas total to over 25,000 families,” Julie Macpherson, Texas regional director, said in the release. “And with Brighter Bites families still dealing with the effects of COVID-19, these steady sources of fresh food, as well as the accompanying nutrition education materials, were welcomed.”

Food insecurity is a major social determinant of health. The collaboration between Brighter Bites, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and Feeding America ensured that families not only were able to put healthy, nutrition-dense food on the table, but also establish long-term, sustainable changes in dietary behavior.

“We’ve seen food insecurity in our communities amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sheena Payne, director of community investments for the Texas health insurance company, said in the release. “As the state's largest health plan, we must be part of the solution when it comes of transforming people lives, whether that is providing them with access to cost-effective, high-quality healthcare or helping to reduce barriers in accessing nutritious food. That’s why we teamed up with Feeding America to continue our support of local food banks like Brighter Bites. We want to help ensure everyone has access to healthy, nutritious food.”

Through the collaboration, Brighter Bites Texas has provided thousands of free recipes, tip sheets and nutrition education materials to help families prepare healthy meals together at home. Brighter Bites also continues to work with teachers to implement its evidence-based health curriculum in the classroom that will help students adopt long-term healthy eating habits.

For more information, visit brighterbites.org.