Students at USD 257 schools in Iola now have access to a new after-school food program designed to help fight childhood hunger and give kids an extra boost before heading home. The district recently launched its first-ever “Super Snack” program, available at Iola Elementary, Iola Middle School, and Iola High School.
The program runs Monday through Thursday and provides students with a nutritious snack after the school day ends. Examples of a Super Snack include a ham and cheese sandwich, bunches of grape tomatoes, a banana, and milk, or other combinations that meet five food components: protein, vegetable, fruit, grain, and milk.
“This program is really about making sure kids have something extra before they head home,” said USD 257 Food Service Director Staci Talkington. It also helps address food insecurity, which continues to rise in Kansas and here in Allen County.
ACCORDING TO Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” study, more than 410,000 Kansans face hunger, including over 126,000 children. That means one in five children across the state are food insecure. In Allen County alone, 15% of residents struggle with food insecurity, with an estimated $1.2 million in food needs each year.
Rural counties, particularly in southeast Kansas, often face higher rates of childhood hunger.
The Super Snack program is funded through the Child & Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), administered by Child Nutrition & Wellness under the Kansas State Department of Education and the USDA.
Students must have an enrollment form completed to participate. Iola Elementary students sign up through their teachers, while middle and high school students must sign up in the front office by 10:30 a.m. each day. Families may still enroll their children if they missed the initial sign-up, either by contacting the teacher or sending a note to the school office.
SUPER SNACKS must be eaten on-site, and no food may be taken out of the building. To help reduce waste, each school has a “share pan,” where students can place food they don’t want for others to take.
Parents are required to pick up their children 15 minutes after the dismissal bell. Pickup is at 3:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and 2:55 p.m. on Wednesdays. At this time, the program is not available to students who ride the bus home.
The program is rolling out gradually, starting at Iola Elementary on Monday, then expanding to the middle school next week and then the high school to allow time to work out any challenges. Talkington said she hopes to see the program continue beyond this year if it proves successful.
Menus for the Super Snack program are available at myschoolmenus.com/organizations/1799.
“This is a pretty substantial snack,” Talkington said. “We’re excited to be able to offer it to students, and we hope it makes a difference.”
