COLUMBIA, Tenn.

 

Bright Apple has expanded its roster to include two additional schools located in Spring Hill, Marvin Wright Elementary School and Spring Hill Elementary School. Bright Apple is a nonprofit organization that provides healthy snacks to students in elementary schools in Maury County to help boost their concentration and learning during the school day. Since its founding in 2019, Bright Apple has served over 1 million snacks to local children.

 

“We want to help close the achievement gap among food insecure children in our community,” said Charity Kimes, one of the founders of Bright Apple. “Food insecurity is a reality for many children, and they cannot bring a snack from home. When children are hungry, they have trouble concentrating in school which can negatively affect their ability to learn fundamental skills in reading and math. The healthy snacks from Bright Apple provide needed nutrition to help students achieve better learning in the classroom.”

 

The addition of these two schools brings the total number of schools being served to nine elementary schools in Maury County. Other schools Bright Apple serves include J. R. Baker Elementary School, Joseph Brown Elementary School, Highland Park Elementary School, Riverside Elementary School, Randolph Howell Elementary School, J.E. Woodard Elementary School, and Mount Pleasant Elementary School.

 

“It is our goal to eventually be able to serve all of the elementary schools in Maury County and beyond,” said Melissa Webb, Director of Development for Bright Apple. “The expansion to include Spring Hill schools has long been a goal for us and we are so thankful to see this dream realized in adding two of the three Maury County Elementary Schools that are in Spring Hill. This is only possible because of the support of so many individuals, businesses, organizations, and churches in our community who give so generously to help children in our community. We especially want to thank our Diamond Apple sponsors including Ford of Columbia, Hyundai of Columbia, and Columbia Collision. Their partnership has been foundational in helping us achieve this milestone.”

 

“We’ve been honored to stand with Bright Apple since October 2023, and our nearly 150 team members believe deeply in its mission,” said Patrick Robertson, Assistant General Manager. “When we show up together at events like today, it’s about more than sponsorship—it’s about ensuring every child in Maury County has the nourishment they need to learn, grow, and thrive. I encourage other business leaders to find a way to join this fight against food insecurity, because investing in the next generation is the most important investment we can make.”

Mayor of Maury County, Sheila Butt, encourages others to get involved in supporting Bright Apple.

“Congratulations to Bright Apple for adding more Maury County Schools to their wonderful program of supplying snacks to the school children in Maury County,” she said. “There are only four more schools in our county who are not receiving Bright Apple snacks. I urge our community to jump on board with them and let’s make sure all of our children have that blessing. Even a small donation can help make that happen. I have learned that bananas are the most popular snacks from Bright Apple, so let’s help every child get to enjoy them. Thank you, Bright Apple for your care for our children.”

The principals at Marvin Wright Elementary and Spring Hill Elementary are both excited about the provision of snacks for students in their schools.

 

“Bright Apple's mission to, ‘Focus on feeding children so they can focus on learning,’ is evident through their generosity of ensuring all students have a healthy snack each day,” said April Hardison, Principal of Marvin Wright Elementary School. “This ensures that our students are able to better focus at school and not be concerned with basic needs.”

 

“Through their generous gift of healthy snacks, Bright Apple is ensuring our students have the fuel they need to stay focused and thrive in the classroom,” said Dr. Renata Powell, Principal of Spring Hill Elementary School. “This partnership reflects a true commitment to combating food insecurity and supporting families in our community.”

 

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