Clarke Elementary School Power Snack Delivery
posted on Wednesday, November 22, 2017
“Children must have their physical needs met before they can learn,” said Clarke Elementary Guidance Counselor, Shelly Morgan. “Hungry children don’t learn.”
At Clarke Elementary School in Osceola, there are a number of students who come to school hungry and don’t eat well on the weekends. But, they do receive a lot of love and support from the faculty within the school. There is always someone a hungry student can turn to if they are in need of a snack.
“Hungry students can get a snack from the school nurse, principal, counselor or classroom teacher,” explained Morgan. She continued, “These snacks are usually purchased by a teacher or faculty member who then provides it to hungry students.” The school also has a BackPack Buddy program to help provide food for students on the weekends.
To support the ongoing food-assistance efforts in Osceola, Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation stopped by earlier this week to deliver Power Snack Program coupon booklets. “Within each kit there are set of two different coupons these students will receive,” explained Allyson Ladd, a marketing specialist at Iowa Select Farms. “There are $5 coupons for sliced or shaved deli ham and $3 coupons for whole wheat bread. There’s even a recipe book for the students to try and make even more easy and nutritious snacks!”
Ham is an excellent source of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, phosphorus and protein and a good source of zinc and potassium—all essential for growth, development and cognitive learning. Whole wheat bread is a great source of fiber, minerals and is low in fat and cholesterol. The Power Snac Program is making these ingredients more accessible to food insecure students and their families.
“The coupons can help feed kids at home,” Morgan says. “Meat is always nutritious and better than the snacks we provide here at school. So it is awesome they can take these coupons home and make their own snacks.”
The Power Snack™ Program supports 44 students at Clarke Elementary – a contribution valued at $1,408.
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