“It is amazing to see the difference in children that are hungry versus those that are not,” said Greg Darling, Superintendent at Humboldt Community Schools. “You can see it on their faces. Whether they’re sad, depressed, have no energy or can’t focus—you can always tell when kids are truly hungry.
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.
“We do have night pickup and other small projects and various classes to support food-insecure students and families within our district,” explained Darling. “But unfortunately, those aren’t quite enough.”
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.”
Throughout November 6-19, Iowa Select Farms employees have been hand delivering Power Snacks to 127 schools statewide—enough to provide 23,267 children with 36 meals each.
“This program is incredible because it really helps our children who need it most,” said Darling. “A full belly equals a happy and productive child and student.”
In total, 636 students within the Humboldt Community School District will receiving Power Snack coupons—a contribution valued at $20,352 and enough supplies to make 22,896 ham sandwiches.
