Power Snack visits Clarke CSD

posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2018

“Children must have their physical needs met before they can learn,” said Shelly Morgan, counselor at Clarke Community Elementary School. “Students who are hungry cannot learn.”

At Clarke Elementary School in Osceola, Iowa, 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.

“Hungry students can get a snack from the school nurse, principal, counselor or teacher,” explained Shelly. “The school also has a food pantry and 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 to deliver Power Snack coupon booklets.

Power Snack is aimed at reducing childhood hunger in Iowa by providing food-insecure students access to nutritious foods at home. Each child enrolled in the program receives coupons for $5 of deli ham and $3 for a loaf of whole wheat bread four times throughout the school year—ingredients to make their own protein-packed Power Snacks.

“Within each kit there are sets of two different coupons,” explained Allyson Ladd, marketing specialist at Iowa Select Farms. “We also include several recipes that are easy to make, delicious and nutritious. The goal of Power Snack is to empower children to go to the store, use their coupons and make their own healthy meals at home.”

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. Power Snack makes these important nutrients accessible to food insecure students and their families.

375 students in Clarke County will receive Power Snacks four times throughout the 2018-2019 school year—a contribution valued at $12,000.

“Rather than worrying about food, students should be focusing on classwork,” continued Shelly. “What excites me most about Power Snack is that it helps kids eat nutritious food. Students who eat well perform better academically.”