About

In an effort to ‘counter the negative’ when local Flathead County schools were shut down for safety issues in the fall of 2017, Molly Thibert & her amazing family decided to start a small snack drive for children in our county schools.

Most elementary schools have mid-morning snack time. Some of the kids don’t have any snacks to bring from home, so they are not only hungry, but also dealing with the situation is different from most other students in their class. Hungry kids can’t focus and can’t learn as well in the classroom. Kids need calories and nutritional snacks to fuel their brains and body throughout the day, and many local, elementary children are just not getting what they need.

Kids are also extremely hungry after school is out for the day. Many kids will have a snack that they can eat after school, on the bus ride home, or when they get home. However, many local children do not have that luxury. Some will not have anything to eat between lunch and dinner, while many will go from lunch until school the next day without any food.

This is why Molly put together a program to provide these kids with two, individually wrapped snacks per day. The kids receive a brown lunch sack on Mondays with ten snacks in it (essentially 2 for each day they are in school). They are able to keep it in their desk, if they wish, and pull it out at snack time, just like the other kids in their class. Also in each bag: a hand-written, encouraging note or funny joke! Some Examples:

You are special!

Have an awesome day!!

You are smart!!

Be brave!!

When the first snack bags were delivered in 2017, Molly, and her dedicated team, was surprised at the overwhelming response from school teachers & administrators. The snack program was suddenly filling a gap that had gone unnoticed.

The snack program has since expanded, and is now serving:  over 700 students in 15 schools in Kalispell, 2 schools in Columbia Falls, along with several students in Kila, Lakeside, Creston, West Valley and more!

Although she is still involved in the FSSP, Molly stepped down in 2022 as Director of the FSSP to focus on her family.

In the Fall of 2022, the new director of the FSSP, Mindy Putnam, stepped into the role. Side by side, with so many AMAZING VOLUNTEERS and Committee Members, the FSSP strives to continue Molly’s legacy and passion for Kids in the Flathead Valley, and to grow the program to fit the Valley’s needs.