Brighter Bites, a national nonprofit organization that delivers fresh fruits and vegetables directly into families’ hands, recently partnered with Sunkist, the longest standing agricultural cooperative in the nation, to help improve the health of students and families in the Bakersfield area. In early December, Sunkist began providing monthly donations of citrus to the Brighter Bites Bakersfield locations, helping to provide families with weekly access to fresh produce at no cost. Bakersfield serves as Brighter Bites’ third California location, following Salinas in 2021, and Los Angeles in 2022.

“We are excited to grow our ongoing support of Brighter Bites’ mission by providing fresh, California-grown citrus to students across the Bakersfield community,” says Christina Ward, Senior Director, Global Marketing at Sunkist Growers. “As Sunkist celebrates its 130th anniversary as a farmer-owned cooperative, our family of citrus growers understands the importance of nutritious and delicious foods. Through the Brighter Bites program, there are many opportunities to educate families on the health benefits of citrus and the many fun ways to snack, drink and cook with oranges, lemons, mandarins and more.”

Since launching in 2012, Brighter Bites has distributed more than 50 million pounds of produce and hundreds of thousands of nutrition education materials to over 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. For more information, please visit www.brighterbites.org.