School Approved for Snack Program

WAITSBURG - The wait just got a little easier for Waitsburg Elementa- ry students who remain at school 30 minute after dismissal prior to boarding the school bus home. An appli- cation filed with the National School Lunch Program by Food Services Supervisor Susan Wildey and Business Manager Becky Dunn was recently approved, allowing the school to offer reimburs- able snacks for bus-riding students.

Two years ago Wildey and Dunn learned that the Cardinals' Nest - a non- profit after-school program - qualified for reimbursable snacks. Up to that time, the program had been paying the Food Service Program for their snacks. While pre- paring this years' applica- tion, it was determined that elementary bus students could also qualify for the snacks as well.

Elementary students (K- 6) are released at 2:30 daily and secondary students are released at 3:10 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Fri- day. Busses run once each afternoon at 3:15, requiring the elementary bus students to remain at school for 30 minutes. The students are su- pervised on the playground until the busses arrive. As of Oct. 7 students may now have a snack before heading outdoors.

Wildey oversees the snacks and documentation, while Dunn takes care of re- porting for reimbursement. "It hasn't been too much extra work," said Wildey who has added an additional 40 to 45 bus students to the 18 or so Cardinal's Nest kids already receiving snacks.

"The snacks are pretty minimal," she said. Wildey follows cost and nutrition requirements in preparing the afternoon snack boxes that supervisors distribute to the children. A typical snack might be a juice box and a graham cracker or apple- sauce and crackers.

School Superintendent Dr. Carol Clark is pleased to be able to offer bus students "a free, healthy snack" and hopes to see an improve- ment in behavior on the playground and on the bus as a result.