Power Snack visits Winterset CSD
posted on Thursday, November 8, 2018
“Food insecurity affects my students, their behavior and ability to be in the classroom learning,” said Ashley Guilliams, counselor at Winterset Elementary School. “When they have full bellies they can focus on school, rather than worrying about when they will eat again.”
In Iowa, 1 in 5 children do not have enough to eat. And although school-based food-assistance programs for children from low-income families greatly aid the learning process, children may still suffer from food insecurity on weekends and holiday breaks.
“When I first learned about the Power Snack program and that it would be coming to our school I got so excited,” continued Ashley. “But I think what excited me most was the healthy food options these coupons will make accessible for our students and their families.”
Power Snack, a program of Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation, aims to reduce childhood hunger in Iowa by providing kids access to nutritious food at home. Four times throughout the school year children receive a $5 coupon for deli ham and $3 coupon for a loaf of whole wheat bread.
“As farmers and pork producers, we are passionate about assisting hunger-relief efforts in Iowa, particularly those directed towards children,” said Jen Sorenson, communications director at Iowa Select Farms. “We’re proud that we’ve grown the program from 10,000 students to nearly 24,000 in just a few short years. This year alone the program grew 23 percent.”
628 Power Snacks were delivered to Ashley at Winterset Elementary today—enough supplies to make 5,652 ham sandwiches and a contribution valued at $5,024.
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