Nourishing the Body & Mind

by Jeannine Gage

Two years ago, Courtney Talisse’s young son came home from school and told her about students in his class who didn’t have anything to eat during snack breaks. 

Courtney’s heart dropped. The image of kids sitting in silence, watching their classmates eat and feeling excluded, weighed heavily on her.

“I wasn’t even thinking about the food at first,” she says. “I was thinking about how that must make a child feel – left out, embarrassed, different.”

The conversation between Courtney and her son spurred her to launch Snacks4Students, a nonprofit that now serves more than 70 schools across Seminole and Orange counties.

Courtney’s initiative started off small, at her son’s school after she got permission from administrators to donate snacks for kids who didn’t bring them from home.

She turned to social media, asking friends and family to donate kid-friendly snacks such as crackers, fruit cups, and granola bars. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Donations poured in, and Courtney soon began adding schools, delivering snacks during lunch breaks while working full time at her family’s business.

As word spread, so did the support. Volunteers stepped up, including Courtney’s friend Erica Hardin of Winter Springs. What started as an informal effort eventually became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, fueled entirely by community generosity.

“It’s heartbreaking to see how many kids come to school without snacks due to financial hardship,” says Erica, a former teacher whose three children attend Seminole County schools. “Students display better academic performance and behavior when they have a full belly.”

Be an Angel

Courtney refers to Erica and her other volunteers as Snack Angels. They distribute snacks to schools on a six-week rotation. Each week, volunteers bring supplies to as many as 10 or 11 schools, with each campus receiving multiple boxes filled with hundreds of individually packaged items.

For Courtney, that’s still not enough. Too many children are going through their school day distracted by hunger, she says, especially with lunch schedules that can fall as early as 10:30 a.m. 

“We’re helping,” she says, “but we’re barely scratching the surface.

Courtney has heard countless stories about children in need.

“Kids going to the nurse because they thought they were sick, but they were just hungry,” she says. “Even kids eating out of the trash.”

Courtney’s dining room – which she has dubbed Snack Central – is stacked floor-to-ceiling with boxes of snacks. Nearly all the donations come from local families, small businesses, and online wish lists.

Local schools now anticipate the deliveries, and teachers and administrators share messages of gratitude. For students, the difference is immediate – in more ways than one.

“Snacks aren’t just snacks,” says Courtney. “They help kids focus, regulate their emotions, and feel included.”

Looking ahead, Courtney has big plans for Snacks4Kids. She envisions securing a warehouse, partnering with large food banks, and eventually expanding nationwide – delivering not just boxes, but pallets of food to schools.

“A few years ago, I had no idea this is what I’d be doing,” says Courtney. “But I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

To learn more, visit Snacks4StudentsFL.com