Hamilton County, Here We Come!

posted on Thursday, October 29, 2020

Hamilton

Today’s Power Snack deliveries started in Hamilton County visiting Webster City Community Schools and Northeast Hamilton Elementary in Blairsburg.

“What is so fabulous about this partnership is that it gives us an opportunity to provide children with healthy, fresh food,” said Danielle Enderson, BackPack Program Coordinator at Webster City Schools. “We’re only able to distribute shelf-stable foods, and with these coupons families can buy ham and bread to get added protein that we’re not able to provide them, which is just fantastic.”

Power Snack is a program of Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation that provide the food ingredients for food-insecure children to make their own “Power Snacks”—deli ham and whole wheat bread sandwiches—at home. This year, 97,500 Power Snack coupons and 20,000 Pork Sticks will be distributed at 99 schools across Iowa.

650 students in Hamilton County will receive Power Snack. Since the program started in 2013, Power Snack has supported 3,901 students in Hamilton County the food ingredients to make 218,448 meals.

Last year, we added pork sticks to provide a portable, immediate infusion of protein to curb hunger and help children focus on learning, which was met with great enthusiasm from teachers. So much so, in fact, we decided to double this year’s donation to 20,000 Pork Sticks for Iowa kids in-need.

“The pork sticks are a great, tasty snack for our students,” continued Danielle. “They are tremendous addition to the program that go great in our meal bags.”

Like many schools, the Webster City Backpack Program has been forced to modify their plans due to COVID-19; however, they plan on starting soon and 150 students in the district will receive meal bags every four weeks. Thanks to Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation, each meal bag will have a $5 coupon for a pound of ham and $3 coupon for a loaf of whole wheat bread.

“So many families need added support this year,” said Danielle. “Being able to provide this resource for our students in-need, grades K-12, lifts a huge burden for so many and it is very appreciated.”