Back-to-school brings visions of backpacks, notebooks, and lunch boxes for most people. But did you know that this time of year signals another need across the country? As kids come home from long days at school, the first thing on their minds isn’t getting that math homework done. It’s finding a snack.
We can all agree that healthy snacks fuel healthy kids. Kids may fill up on lunch at school, but by the time they hop off the bus, they’re ready to eat again.
But what if healthy snacks are hard to come by?
That’s where we come in.
Champions for Kids and Dole have teamed up for the Game Day Great Project, and you can be a part. This is the perfect way to help kids in the community while spending time with friends and family. It’s a simple but effective way to lend a hand to kids who need healthy snacks. Here’s how you can get involved.
- Gather your friends and family for a game day. This could be as simple as a playground play date or even a backyard barbecue. If you want to get all crazy, you could plan an obstacle course or relay races.
- Ask your guests to bring healthy snacks like Dole Fruit Bowls or Squish’ems to the event. You could even make their donation their ‘ticket’ to get into the event.
- Do a little research about organizations that help kids in your community. Maybe you have a women’s shelter, after-school program, or food pantry that needs to restock their snacks for the coming school year. Find out what they need most, and focus on those items.
- Gather all of your donations, and drop them off.
- You can even share your donation experience on the Champions for Kids website.
It may not seem like your donation of 10 packs of fruit cups will make a big difference. But if we all pitch in and do these SIMPLE Service Projects, we are a powerful force for good in our communities.
For our snack food donation, we opted for Dole Squish’ems and Fruit Bowls. Portability, a full serving of fruit, open-and-eat, and no high fructose corn syrup? YES please! (We like to keep these in our own cupboards too for homeschool co-op day lunch packing or snacks on the go.) Our donation is going to our local food pantry.
With over 16 million American kids living in poverty, let’s all pitch in and equip kids in our own communities with healthy snacks for the new school year. With SIMPLE Service Projects, we’re keeping it simple and making a big impact together!
Disclosure: I participated in this program on behalf of Champions for Kids and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.
