About Us

The Healthy Lunch
&
Lifestyle Project

In 2007, a team of parents at Redding School of the Arts formed a group to discuss concerns with the food provided to students on campus. The Healthy Lunch & Lifestyle Project, founded by Executive Director Bridgette Brick-Wells, was the product of those discussions and hundreds of hours of research. In 2008, HELP (as the project has come to be known) was launched and began providing meals made from scratch using whole foods for two pilot charter schools in Shasta County, California.

Over the next four years, HELP expanded and developed kitchens in Chico and Woodland, California. HELP has provided meals for Headstart programs; public and private pre-schools; and private, traditional public and charter public K-12 schools . In 2011, HELP closed its original central kitchen in Redding, California, and partnered with Enterprise Elementary School District.

HELP now provides consulting services to schools and districts across the state of California.

Bridgette comes from a family that has farmed and raised beef for more than 100 years. Childhood summers and holidays spent on the family's historic Broadview Farm in Oklahoma provided Bridgette with a deep love of agriculture and an appreciation for the rural way of life--as well as some great practical skills, like how to drive a tractor and expertly bait a fish hook ! A 9th generation Native American, Bridgette traces her ancestry to Chief Moytoy of the Cherokee Nation. Bridgette studied Sustainable Development and Political Economy at UC Berkeley and developed a non-profit organization, Project Opportunity, with her father which they ran from 1998-2005; she managed up to 700 volunteers per day in addition to coordinating efforts between multiple partners to build affordable houses modified to meet the needs of the physically and developmentally disabled. When not busy taking care of her family and organically farming their 125-acre ranch, she happily donates her time to multiple charities.

Elizabeth Hill is our Education Director. Before joining HELP, Liz studied Studio Art and Biology at Stanford University. She went on to complete her Elementary Teaching Credential and Master’s of Education at San Jose State University. Liz has worked as both an art and science teacher and is now the director of an after-school enrichment program for the County of Santa Cruz. Liz is an avid gardener and is certified as a Master Gardener through the University of California. Also a cooking enthusiast, she started, expanded, and then sold her own baking company in Santa Cruz. When she's not working, volunteering, gardening or cooking, you can find Liz playing volleyball on the beach, camping in the mountains, or traveling to faraway lands (she has been backpacking in the Himalayas, hot air ballooning in Africa, sky diving in New Zealand, and swimming with the seals in Antarctica!)

Pamela Ikuta, DO, is the Medical Director for HELP and is board certified in Family Practice. Dr. Ikuta practices emergency medicine at Mercy and St. Elizabeth Community Hospitals. Born in Hawaii and raised in southern California, Pam relocated to Redding to complete her residency training and has been an active member of the community ever since. In addition to managing her busy medical practice and serving on numerous hospital committees, Pam also serves on the Board of Directors for the North State Symphony and the Board of Regents for Turtle Bay. Pam created and manages the Bryan K. Zollner Memorial Scholarship Fund for Future Firefighters in honor of her late husband. Pam is classically trained in piano and French horn and is an avid supporter of the arts. She also finds time to work in her garden, play with her cat and dogs, and cook for family and friends.

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