Pointing to increases in the number of homeless and poor students, the Sun Prairie School District and its foundation will launch a program in September to provide free, healthy snacks to middle and high schoolers during the school day.
The program, called Food for Thought, will make snacks such as dried mango, cheese sticks and protein bars available to staff at the district’s three middle schools and three high schools, who can then provide them to students.
It is expected to cost about $38,000 in its first year, all covered by private donations, according to Rebecca Ketelsen, executive director of the Sun Prairie Education Foundation, and comes as a six-week, initial pilot program got underway this month to deliver $4,300 worth of snacks to the schools.
“Nutrition is the foundation of learning,” Stephanie Leonard, district assistant superintendent of teaching, learning and equity, said in a news release announcing the effort. “When students are well-fed, they are more engaged, more confident, and better able to thrive in the classroom.”
