One Healthy Snack at a Time: Nourishing Children, Supporting Families, and Local Businesses

The school bell rings, and within moments, children fill the school yard with laughter and excitement. As they gather for their break, many head straight towards the healthy snacks they have been looking forward to all morning.

Freshly prepared cakes, savoury crackers, wholesome biscuits, and other nutritious options have become part of their daily routine.

For many children, these snacks are much more than something to eat during the school day. They help them build healthier eating habits while easing the daily pressure on parents by reducing the cost and effort of preparing nutritious lunchboxes each morning.

At the same time, this initiative is supporting local businesses and creating opportunities for them to grow.

Through the School Feeding Project, World Vision provided healthy daily snacks to 3,624 of the most vulnerable children in schools across Baalbeck-Hermel. Using a voucher system, each child could choose up to three snacks every day from more than 35 nutritious options.

This gave children the freedom to choose the food they enjoyed while encouraging independence and responsibility, ensuring every choice was healthy and balanced. The project also helped reduce the financial burden on families who struggled to prepare daily lunchboxes for their children.

To prepare these snacks, World Vision partnered with a local bakery in Deir El Ahmar. Elie Barakat, owner of Barakat Pastry, said: "We prepare both sweet and savoury snacks using nutritious ingredients. Our thyme crackers are made with za'atar and contain no preservatives, while our  zucchini muffins are prepared with dates and fresh vegetables, making them both tasty and nutritious."

For Elie, the goal is not only to make food that children enjoy, but food that is good for them.

"The children enjoy the snacks because they're eating food they like," he says. "We know we're also helping to protect their health. We're giving them the nutrients they need and helping them stay away from unhealthy snacks."

The partnership has also helped his bakery grow.

"As demand continues to grow, we need to produce more," Elie explains. "The support we received helped us increase our production and improve our work. Now we can meet the growing demand, and we hope to provide healthy snacks to even more children. They deserve food that is both tasty and healthy."

The impact can already be seen on children. Benita, a Grade 6 student at Sainte Famille School in Deir El Ahmar, looks forward to the snacks every day.

"My favourite ones are the pizza, the cakes, and the biscuits," she says.

The project has even changed some habits at home.

"I told my mum about the snacks," Benita says. "Now she uses less sugar and cooks healthier food for our family," she adds, smiling while enjoying a yoghurt cake.

"It almost tastes like chocolate, even though there's no chocolate in it. It's sweet, but they use healthier ingredients than sugar."

When asked whether she would choose this snack or a chocolate bar from the school canteen, her answer comes without hesitation.

"I would choose this one because it's healthier and it tastes better."

Anthony, a Grade 9 student at Sainte Famille Maronite School, enjoys the variety.

"Every day we get something different," he says. "There are always different choices, so everyone can find something they like."

Throughout the project, children enjoyed a wide range of healthy snacks, including pizza, thyme crackers, carrot and zucchini muffins, beetroot biscuits, yoghurt cake and many other nutritious options.

The variety encouraged children to try healthier foods while allowing them to choose the snacks they enjoyed most.

He has also noticed a change in his own eating habits.

"Since we started getting these snacks, I don't feel like eating sugary or unhealthy food as much anymore, especially in the afternoon."

For Anthony, the programme is making a real difference for many families in his community.

"I've noticed that some students don't need to bring food from home anymore because they depend on these snacks," he says. "Many families in our village have a low income, so this helps reduce the cost of preparing food every day."

The students are also learning why healthy food matters.

"They explained to us about protein, fiber, vitamins, and how they help us grow and stay healthy."

Teachers and school staff reported better student concentration, higher satisfaction, and a noticeable reduction in hyperactivity after healthier snacks replaced the high-sugar alternatives previously available in school canteens.

The project's impact also reached beyond the classroom, with many parents asking for the recipes and preparing similar nutritious snacks at home, helping healthy eating habits spread within families.

Sometimes, a simple snack can do much more than satisfy hunger. It can help children develop healthier habits, support families through difficult times, strengthen local businesses, and give every child the energy they need to learn, grow, and thrive.

The project also reflects  World Vision's ENOUGH campaign goal, which aims to ensure every child has access to nutritious food and the opportunity to grow up healthy.

By improving access to healthy meals and helping prevent malnutrition, initiatives like this sow the seeds for lasting change, which can begin with something as simple as a nutritious snack.