March 19, 2024

Healthy snack program underway from the Newton Wellness Coalition

A healthy snack program the Newton Wellness Coalition started working on last year is finally coming to fruition. With the start of the new school year, each kindergarten through fourth grade school in Newton received funds and start-up snacks for a healthy snack closet.

“Everyone has been very appreciative,” coalition member Robyn Friedman said.

Through discussions with teachers in the school district, the group found that throughout the day many children become hungry and snacks are not always provided by parents. Some teachers have even gone as far as purchasing snacks for their classrooms when they notice the children losing focus, in part because of hunger and lack of energy.

The program has transformed as the group worked through the details. When first applying for grants, the group focused on providing healthy snacks for only kindergartners in the district.

After speaking with school leaders and grant providers, the group found the program needed to expand to benefit more kids in the schools.

“Initially we wrote the grant for only kindergartners, but we’re just letting the building figure out who needs that snack at what time,” Friedman said.

Also, instead of giving each school the entire $500 allotment at once, it was split into more manageable $250 portions to start.

“It will help us to see how quickly it is used and see how much more we would need to put in to that if there is more funding needed to make it through the school year,” Friedman said.

The program is currently funded through a $2,000 grant the coalition received from the city-wide parent teacher association. Although the grant gave the group an excellent start, it is continuing to look for additional revenue sources.

Coalition Member Alayna Bailey is providing one of those through a fundraising effort at Park Centre where she works as the lifestyle director.

“What we have been doing at Park Centre all month is we have put jars out around the building, collecting pennies and dimes for the healthy snack program,” Bailey said.

To date, the collection has raised more than $400 with a final total expected at the end of the week.

“A lot of our residents are retired teachers so it really did hit a lot of people,” Bailey said. “It has been really successful.”

For more information about donating to the program, contact the Newton Wellness Coalition at newtonwellnesscoalition@gmail.com, on its website at www.newtonwellness.org or through its Facebook page.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com