Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation doubles down on efforts to fight childhood hunger

WEST DES MOINES – With one in seven Iowa children facing food insecurity, Iowa Select Farms and the Deb and Jeff Hansen Foundation are fighting back with 1,000,000 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,” said 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.

Between October 19 and 30, Iowa Select Farms’ employees will distribute Power Snack™ Teacher Kits. In total, the kits contain 20,000 pork sticks and coupons for 1,000,000 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,” said 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.”

Ham is Lean, Nutrient Rich Protein

“As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, I know that the combination of ham and whole wheat bread is a powerful trifecta for nutrition,” said 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.