SNACC is an after-school cooking program working with mostly Bronx students that provides kitchen tools and food delivery for free. It teaches students how to prepare nutritious meals for themselves and their family.
Photo ET Rodriguez
Imagine receiving a starter kit filled with all the basic kitchen tools, a delivery of fresh groceries every week and working virtually with professional chefs to execute delicious and nutritious meals. No, this isn’t some new meal-kit company, it’s Sustainable Nutrition and Community Connection (SNACC) and it’s absolutely free.
Every Sunday throughout the school year, 36 8th and 9th grade students from across NYC receive a delivery of groceries to their homes enough to feed a family of four through SNACC – an after-school program intended to advance knowledge, improve health outcomes and strengthen communities.
On Tuesday nights, they tune in via Zoom with resident chefs Jorian Blair and Chef Jennifer Scher and prepare dinner together.
“I kept coming back to students about having the food that they need to fuel themselves to succeed during the school day, which then impacted them in other spheres as well,” said Danielle Levin Cohen, founder of SNACC. “With the right food and the right support systems, youth can typically overcome most of the challenges that are thrown their way.”
In 2020, Levin Cohen, a Pennsylvania native, graduated with her master’s from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, received the Gorman Public Health and Humanitarian award and founded the SNACC program. While working towards her degree, Levin Cohen, 29, thought extensively about how to battle poverty and homelessness, especially among adolescents. She began to conduct in-depth research on studies regarding the benefits of after-school programs and how to ensure youth are getting the right support systems they need to thrive in a school environment. Levin Cohen found that the answers…
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