Iowa Falls and Alden Receive Power Snack

posted on Thursday, October 29, 2020

Alden

You can’t learn and grow if you aren’t healthy,” Nicky Nachazel, school nurse at Alden Elementary School. “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.”

Our sixth 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.

Last year, Power Snack deliveries also include pork sticks. Nutritious snacks for students going through emergency hungry situations, which were met with great enthusiasm. We surveyed teachers and when asked about the Pork Sticks they responded with a resounded, “Yes! We loved them. Can we have double next time?” So, that’s exactly what we did—we doubled the donation to 20,000 this year.

“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 a great resource for us to immediately curb hunger.”

Four times throughout the school year, often before extended weekends and holiday breaks, qualifying students 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 on students who rely on free and reduced meal programs, but these coupons make it a little easier on those students and their families.”

In total, 125 students in the Iowa Falls-Alden School District will receive Power Snack coupons, which will provide enough resources for 6,000 nutritious meals.