5th graders make tasty holiday treats for Hays seniors

Roosevelt 5th graders in Mrs. Leikam’s class (Photos courtesy Kristen Schmidt)

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Some older residents of Hays got an early taste of the holidays this week thanks to some students at Roosevelt Elementary School.

The 5th grade students in Suzanne Leikam’s class made holiday mints Wednesday morning to be included with Thursday’s home-delivered meals for participants in the Homestead Nutrition Program in Hays.

Some of the winter white mints were decorated with red or green sprinkles.

The handmade holiday treats were a lunchtime surprise for some elderly Hays residents.

The Hays program, one of 28 sites served by the Homestead Nutrition Project, serves approximately 150 meals each day to seniors aged 60 and older.

“Home-delivered recipients are considered homebound and often have no family. This is a way for the kids of the community to really brighten their day and give back to the community,” said Kristen Schmidt, Nutrition Director for the Homestead Nutrition Project with the Northwest Kansas Area Agency on Aging.

“The same class also did something similar for the Thanksgiving holiday,” Schmidt added. “They sent treats, a bag full of “smores,” to the Hays homebound recipients at that time. The seniors were thankful and some even sent thank-you cards as a token of appreciation.”