9th grade snack club deemed a success!

A Farm to School vision grant from the Vermont Department of Agriculture supported an extension of the annual 9th grade Food Security project through the creation of a weekly Snack Club. 6 ninth graders gathered each Wednesday throughout the school year to prepare a healthy snack for their peers. They were guided by Annesonia Beardsley, through her senior Stewardship Action Project.

Annesonia planned the menu, researched recipes, helped source items from local farms, and facilitated the snack making. Snacks ranged from the popular energy ball to banana spinach muffins, to an entirely green snack of edamame hummus, cucumbers, and celery for St Patrick's Day. Champlain Orchards, VT Farmstead Cheese, and Maplebrook Farm generously supported this project with donations, and the Woodstock Farmer's Market offered a discount as well.

When surveyed, ninth graders reported that this program helped students discover new healthy snack ideas they could replicate at home and made them realize that they could also enjoy healthy food. Many respondents enjoyed the taste of the snacks, describing them as "delicious" or "tasty," and looked forward to the weekly delivery, which provided a positive break and "bursts of excitement" during class.

Students said: "When we get snacks I feel focused after a long day after lunch. It gives a little break in afternoon classes, while providing fuel to stay focused throughout the afternoon before the end of the day activities like sports or theater." The snack makers said: "WE make kids happy. We make kids full. It's really nice to give kids more food because I know everyone's super hungry even if we’ve just had lunch and it's really awesome to have all these kids who really want snacks and like them."

Thanks to Heidi, Violet, Annabelle, Wren, Astrid, Lux, Annesonia, Kat, and Mr Wolfe! We have enough funding for one more year of snack club!