MONTEREY, CA - Great things can be accomplished when a community comes together to achieve a common goal. Brighter Bites recently celebrated community collaboration in Monterey County, hosting its inaugural Monterey County Spring Luncheon on May 11.
“Thank you to the companies, organizations, and individuals who are with us today, to ensure we receive the funding needed for long-term sustainability and growth,” said Rich Dachman, Chief Executive Officer of Brighter Bites. “To those that donate produce weekly for our distribution—all of you are working together to create communities of health.”
As a press release explained, the first-ever event highlighted the importance and need of local and national collaboration to help Brighter Bites reach success in changing behavior among children and families through its model of “fresh produce + nutrition education + a fun food experience.”
Bruce Taylor of Taylor Farms, Vic Smith of JV Smith and Companies, Tiffany DiTullio of Blue Zones Project, and Soren Bjorn of Driscoll’s were among the 190 guests and community leaders who attended the event.
“Blue Zones Project and Taylor Farms are focused on aligning and elevating the great work taking place in Monterey County because we and Brighter Bites are not THE solution—we are three of the many incredibly invested, passionate, committed organizations serving Monterey County,” said DiTullio, Executive Director of Blue Zones Project.
Local and industry partners sponsored the event and attended to join this conversation on food insecurity, including Taylor Farms, Braga Fresh, Church Brothers Farms, Driscoll’s, D’Arrigo New York, JV Smith and Company, Pacific International Marketing, Sysco, River Fresh Farms, The Wonderful Company, Windset Farms, and more.
“Year over year, Monterey County programming has doubled in size and participation, with 10 schools on the Brighter Bites waiting list as of today,” said Alicia Blanco, Senior Program Director for Brighter Bites Salinas. “We are proud of the fact that Brighter Bites Monterey County has the highest enrollment rate nationally at 94 percent. This means that out of all the schools and head starts enrolled in the Brighter Bites program, almost all of the children participate in Monterey County.”
Click here for more information on the event.
Three cheers for this community for coming together in the name of fresh produce! For more industry updates, keep clicking on AndNowUKnow.
