Talkeetna Elementary students get healthy snacks

Starting last month, students at the Talkeetna Elementary School are being served a fresh snack once a week, courtesy of the Parent Teacher Association’s Healthy Lifestyles Committee.On Mondays, PTA parents and volunteers gather in the school’s kitchen to cut up oranges, apples, carrots and cucumbers or whatever else is on the fresh snack menu. Each classroom gets a container with their fresh snack, accompanied by little notes with nutritional information on what makes the snack healthy.

The idea came about as the school has no funding for snacks and parents are asked to supply snacks. PTA parents agreed that these parent-supplied snacks are of varying nutrional values and thus was born the idea to supplement the students’ diet with fresh food. The PTA decided to create a subcommittee promoting healthy lifestyles and started with the concept of delivering fresh fruit and vegetables at least once a week. The PTA received a thousand dollar grant from the Mat-Su Health Foundation to start the healthy snack program. PTA parents say the fresh snacks are well received by the kids and that they are especially interested in the notes with nutritional information.

The healthy lifestyles committee is getting the produce through Cubby’s and tries to order organic products when possible.