Power Snack

One in six Iowa children experiences food insecurity. School lunch programs address some of that — but they go away on weekends, over spring break, through the long stretch of summer. Power Snack was designed to fill those gaps in rural communities where the need is acute and the resources are thin.

Students on Free and Reduced Lunch in participating school districts receive a coupon booklet each year — four $8 ham coupons and four $3 whole wheat bread coupons, timed to the school calendar’s longest breaks. Each set funds the ingredients for 12 high-protein sandwiches. Over a year, one student’s booklet funds 48 meals.

Throughout the school year, the Foundation also provides shelf-stable pork sticks to school nurses, counselors, and classrooms — so there’s always something within reach when a kid needs it.