Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation fights childhood hunger

Iowa Select Farms employees will distribute 1 million ham sandwich coupons, 20,000 pork sticks and educational resources to 99 schools.

October 21, 2020

17 Min Read
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Iowa Select Farms

With one in seven Iowa children facing food insecurity, Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation are fighting back with 1 million ham sandwiches, 20,000 pork sticks and educational resources for teachers. These nutritious, protein-packed goodies are through the Foundation's Power Snack program, which has been helping food-insecure Iowa children for eight years.  

Last year, the Foundation added pork sticks to provide a portable, immediate infusion of protein to curb hunger and help children focus on learning, which was met with great enthusiasm.

"We surveyed teachers and administrators who participated in Power Snack and made some modifications to the program this year," says Allyson Ladd, communications specialist at Iowa Select Farms. "The teachers spoke of the power of the immediate result of the pork sticks, so we have doubled that donation this year to 20,000 sticks."  

In addition to doubling their donation efforts, Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation have developed educational cooking demonstrations as a resource for teachers. These videos are designed to start a conversation in the classroom about nutrition and the importance of healthy eating. Young chefs dressed in colorful PowerSnack aprons and hats appear in the videos to prepare recipes using deli ham including ham pinwheels, superhero ham sandwiches, scrambled eggs and ham, ham and cheese pizza bites, ham and cheese cracker sandwiches and ham and cheese egg cups. The videos will be shared on company social media platforms and YouTube.

Now through Oct. 30, Iowa Select Farms employees will distribute Power Snack Teacher Kits. In total, the kits contain 20,000 pork sticks and coupons for 1 million ham sandwiches to children at 99 schools across Iowa. Power Snack helps reduce childhood hunger in Iowa by providing kids access to nutritious food at home. Four times throughout the school year, children identified by the school as food insecure receive a $5 coupon for deli ham and $3 coupon for a loaf of whole wheat bread.

According to the Food Bank of Iowa, one in seven Iowa children are considered food insecure. Holiday breaks are usually when most students struggle with food insecurity, but COVID-19 presented additional challenges for schools, including how to keep their students well-fed even when they're not in the building.

"Meal programs are critical for our students, so our teachers and staff volunteered to not only pack, but also deliver meals to students in town and rural countryside," says Danielle Newton of Diagonal Community Schools. "We were fearful that we might not receive the coupons and Pork Sticks this year with all of the challenges facing hog farmers, but we're so relieved because although our students get free fruit at the end of each day, our at-risk students especially benefit from the Pork Sticks after school."

"As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I know that the combination of ham and whole wheat bread is a powerful trifecta for nutrition," says Kelsey Wigans, Seed to Table manager, RDN, LDN at Gilmore City-Bradgate Elementary School. "Power Snack provides carbohydrate, fat and protein, which are important for satiety, growth and essential nutrients needed for other functions within the body."

According to the National Pork Board, pork loin, tenderloin and ham are excellent sources of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, phosphorus and protein, and a good source of zinc and potassium. The USDA MyPlate guidelines recommend children eat up to six ounces of lean protein daily, depending on age and gender.

Schools in Iowa receiving Power Snack

Ackley

AGWSR Community School District

Afton

East Union Community Schools

Albert City

Albert City-Truesdale Community Schools

Alden

Alden Elementary School

Algona

Algona Community School District

Allison

North Butler Community School District

Aplington

Aplington Parkersburg Community School District

Bedford

Bedford Community School District

Belmond

Belmond-Klemme Community School District

Blairsburg

Northeast Hamilton Community School District

Bode

Twin Rivers Elementary School

Britt

West Hancock Community Schools

Buffalo Center

North Iowa Elementary School

Burnside

Southeast Valley Middle School

Carroll

Carroll Community School District

Chariton

Chariton Preschool

Chariton

Chariton Community School District (2 elementary schools)

Charter Oak

Charter Oak-Ute Community School District

Churdan

Paton-Churdan Community Schools

Clarion

Clarion-Goldfield-Dows CSD

Clarksville

Clarksville Community Schools

Colo

Colo-Nesco Community School District

Conrad

BCLUW Community School District

Corning

Corning Elementary

Corning

Southwest Valley Middle and High School

Cresco

Howard-Winneshiek Comm School District

Creston

Creston Elementary/Middle School

Dayton

Dayton Elementary School

Denison

Zion Luthern School

Denison

Denison Community School District (7 elementary schools)

Diagonal

Diagonal Community Schools

Dike

Dike-New Hartford CSD

Eagle Grove

Eagle Grove Community School District

Eagle Grove

Eagle Grove Elementary School

Eldora

Eldora-New Providence CSD

Emmetsburg

Emmetsburg Community School District

Emmetsburg

Emmetsburg Catholic School

Farnhamville

Prairie Valley Elementary School

Fenton

North Union Elementary School (Fenton Campus)

Forest City

Forest City Elementary

Fort Dodge

St. Paul Lutheran School

Fort Dodge

Fort Dodge Community Schools

George

George-Little Rock Community Schools

Gilmore City

Gilmore City-Bradgate Comm School District

Gowrie

Southeast Valley High School

Grundy Center

Grundy Center Community Schools

Hampton

North Side Elementary School

Hampton

Hampton Dumont Middle and High School

Hampton

South Side Elementary School

Hastings

East Mills Community School District

Hubbard

Hubbard-Radcliffe CSD

Humeston

Mormon Trail Community Schools

Ida Grove

OABCIG Community Schools

Iowa Falls

Iowa Falls-Alden Community School District

Jefferson

Greene County Community Schools

Jewell

South Hamilton Middle/High School

Lake City

South Central Calhoun Comm School District

Lake View

East Sac County Community School District

Latimer

CAL Community School District

Laurens

Laurens-Marathon Community School District

Lenox

Lenox Community School District

LuVerne

LuVerne Comm School District

Manning

IKM-Manning CSD

Marcus

MMCRU Community School District

Montezuma

Montezuma Comm School District

Mount Ayr

Mount Ayr Community Schools

Murray

Murray Community Schools

Newell

Newell-Fonda Comm School District

Orient

Orient Macksburg Schools

Osage

Lincoln Elementary School

Osage

Osage Middle School

Osage

Osage High School

Osceola

Clarke Community Schools

Pocahontas

Pocahontas Community Schools

Pocahontas

Pocahontas Preschool

Radcliffe

Hubbard-Radcliffe Elementary School

Riceville

Riceville Community Schools

Rockwell

West Fork Community Schools

Schaller

Schaller-Crestland CSD

Schleswig

Schleswig Community School District

Shell Rock

Shell Rock Elementary

Sioux Rapids

Sioux Central Community School District

St. Ansgar

St. Ansgar Middle and High Schools

St. Ansgar

St. Ansgar Elementary School

Storm Lake

Storm Lake High School

Storm Lake

Storm Lake Middle School

Storm Lake

Storm Lake Elementary School

Swea City

North Kossuth Community School District

Tama

South Tama

Thornburg

Tri-County Community School District

Villisca

Enarson Elementary

Washta

River Valley Community Schools

Waverly

Waverly-Shellrock Community School District

Webster City

Webster City Community Schools

Wellsburg

Timothy Christian School

West Bend

West Bend-Mallard Community School District

 

Source: Iowa Select Farms, which is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

 

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