We provide healthy and hearty snacks after school every day and a healthy breakfast and lunch daily to all students in the summer. All meals are cooked fresh by our staff. We have a water only policy within all facets of the program. Nutrient-rich snacks support growth, cognitive function, and emotional regulation—factors that are especially important for children experiencing poverty, stress, or trauma in their home environments. We directly address food insecurity, helping to alleviate the challenges faced by our families. A healthy snack after school can help fill the nutritional gaps and ensure no child goes hungry during crucial hours of development. This directly supports academic performance and impacts concentration, memory, and behavior. In an academic-focused after-school program, students need stable energy to complete homework, participate in tutoring, and engage in learning activities.
- Providing regular access to nutritious foods helps shape lifelong eating habits. Introducing healthier options in a supportive setting increases the likelihood that youth will make better food choices outside of the program.
- Students are more likely to attend and remain in after-school programs when their basic needs—including hunger—are met. Offering appealing and healthy snacks increases motivation, attendance, and participation in academic activities.
- Healthy snacks help level the playing field. When all students, regardless of their background, receive the same high-quality nutrition, it reinforces the message that they are valued and deserve care and opportunity.
- Eating together in a safe, positive environment creates a sense of community and connection. This can be particularly impactful for at-risk youth who may lack consistency or support at home.
Additionally, we provide nutrition education to empower youth with knowledge about healthy eating. We discuss healthy choices, how to read food labels and serving sizes, balance diets, meal planning and recipe samples.
We have a 10+ year partnership with The Danbury Farmer’s Market where 5-8 Danbury Grassroots Academy students volunteer every Saturday in season. This encourages the parents of our students to visit the market, take part in incentive programs to make their money go further with healthier options, all while enjoying the nutrition classes they provide.
We partner with Filling in the Blanks, a Norwalk, Connecticut-based non-profit organization established in 2013. Their mission is to combat childhood hunger by providing weekend meal bags. To date, they have delivered over four million meals and served 10,000 plus children. They have over 200 sites located throughout Fairfield, Westchester, and Putnam County. Each of our students is enrolled in this program, and the meal bags typically include pasta, other non-perishable items, a snack, a breakfast item, and a Fairlife protein shake. The students receive these weekly food bags year round.
