Alden Elementary School is the Next Stop on Our PowerSnack Tour
posted on Wednesday, November 13, 2019
“I love that these coupons provide our students with bread and meat so they are getting the healthy grains and protein they need to grow,” said Nicky Nachazel, school nurse at Alden Elementary School. “You can’t learn and grow if you aren’t healthy.”
Our seventh stop of the day brought us to Alden, where we visited with Nicky and delivered 100 Power Snacks for area children and families in need. A program of Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation, Power Snack provides students identified by their schools as food-insecure with coupons for deli ham and whole wheat bread.
“Power Snack is indicative of the larger purpose of the program—empower children in food-insecure homes by teaching them how to get to the store, shop for nutritious food covered by the coupons and make their own snacks,” said Jen Sorenson, Communications Director of Iowa Select Farms. “Oftentimes parents are working on weekends and holidays. Something simple like a ham sandwich may be the difference in preventing kids from going hungry.”
New this year, Power Snack deliveries also include pork sticks. Nutritious snacks for students going through emergency hungry situations. In total, 10,000 pork sticks will be delivered to 125 schools statewide.
“Some teachers have students often reporting that they’re hungry so they provide them with snacks for after school and on weekends, often paid for out of their own pocket,” explained Nicky. “These pork snicks are going to be a great resource for us to immediately curb hunger.”
Four times throughout the school year, often before extended weekends and holiday breaks, qualifying students to receive a $5 coupon for one pound of deli ham and a $3 coupon for a loaf of whole wheat bread—the food ingredients needed to make their own “Power Snacks” at home.
“Power Snack coupons are a great way to get healthy items to our students who otherwise would go without,” continued Nicky. “Holiday breaks can be especially difficult for students who rely on free and reduced meal programs, but these coupons make it a little easier for those students and their families.
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