Three Squares

One of my students just moved into a home after being homeless for years and came and said to me: We don’t have any food. I was able to go and get him a bag of food and the look on his face was priceless. I was able to give him enough food for each of his siblings. Thank you for putting a smile on these children’s faces every time they get a backpack of Three Squares food.

I had a mom come in last Friday with several needs late in the day. She had no money for food and the food bank had closed already. She was worried about the kids eating and said she had enough milk for that night and a couple slices of bread. I gave her the backpack of food for the weekend and she started crying and the boys were all excited to go home and go through the backpack.

We all know that hungry children can’t concentrate on learning, are sick more often and have more behavior problems than well-nourished children. Inadequate nutrition remains a problem for Washington’s children even with the availability of school nutrition programs and food banks.

Northwest Harvest operates the Three Squares program in five school districts in Washington— Seattle, Kent, Highline/White Center, Clover Park/Pierce County, and Yakima. Three Squares provides food to select public schools with high percentages of students participating in the free or reduced-price school meals program. The program offers nutritious, kid-friendly, supplemental food for children with limited food resources outside of school.

If you are interested in contributing to Northwest Harvest’s Three Squares program, we recommend the items below. They have been selected for their portability, ease of preparation and nutritional value.

• Protein: flip-top cans of chili, ravioli, easy-to-prepare macaroni and cheese, tuna, small plastic jars of peanut butter.
• Dairy: shelf-stable milk or soy milk
• Fruit: snack sized (4 oz.) applesauce, peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, with flip tops. Fruit juices and fruit snacks.
• Vegetables: tomato or vegetable soups; canned green beans or carrots.
• Grains: individual servings of instant oatmeal, dry cereal, ramen noodles or Cup O’ Noodles, chicken noodle soup.
• Snacks: peanut butter or cheese crackers, energy bars, multigrain bars, nut packets.
• Bags: backpacks or reusable bags for students to carry home food.

Three Squares is funded by corporate and foundation grants and supplemented by funds from our operating budget. For more information, contact Elise DeGooyer at 206-923-7423.