Youth musicians with the nonprofit Harmony123 have launched a community snack drive aimed at addressing ongoing food insecurity among students at Sprout U School of the Arts in Trenton.
The initiative, called the “Be a Granola Bar Angel” campaign, seeks donations of granola bars or monetary contributions to provide daily healthy snacks for students at the performing arts school, where administrators say hunger remains a persistent issue.
School officials said the drive follows an emergency food effort organized by Harmony123 last fall that helped families through Thanksgiving but did not fully resolve the underlying need.
“The recent SNAP disruption caused by the government shutdown exposed deep food insecurity among our student families,” said Danielle Miller-Winrow, headmaster of Sprout U School of the Arts. “Even as the situation stabilizes, many students still come to school hungry.”
Miller-Winrow said about 80 percent of Sprout U students live below the poverty line and that consistent access to snacks can make a meaningful difference for children trying to focus on academics and performance training.
“The snacks, however small, will not only fill the kids’ tummies but also lift everybody’s spirit,” she said.
Sprout U School of the Arts was founded in 2001 by Miller-Winrow and her late husband, Joseph Winrow, and serves students from preschool through high school. The school offers an arts-integrated curriculum focused on academic achievement and performance skills.
Miller-Winrow’s late aunt, Sarah Dash — a founding member of the group Labelle and best known for the hit song “Lady Marmalade” — was a longtime supporter of the school and served as a private voice instructor and advocate for arts education.
Harmony123 is a nonprofit organization made up of youth musicians and artists in 10 U.S. states and five countries. The group uses music and art to support charitable causes and community initiatives.
“We know firsthand the importance of being well-nourished to focus on schoolwork,” said Laura Wu, a Grade 11 student and Harmony123’s U.S. head. “There are many talented students at Sprout U with huge potential. We want to help them reach for their dreams at school instead of worrying about an empty stomach.”
Wu said 11 Harmony123 youth musicians have already committed to helping with the campaign.
Justin Tang, a Grade 11 student and Harmony123’s regional head for the U.S. Northeast, said the organization is encouraging participation from individuals, schools, neighborhoods, snack manufacturers and grocery stores.
“You can donate snacks or cash yourself, or collect donations from your school, neighborhood, and other communities,” Tang said. “Every bit counts.”
Harmony123 Global Head Ethan Zhang, a Grade 11 student based in Singapore, said the organization is also encouraging support from outside Central New Jersey.
“People outside of Central New Jersey can help too,” Zhang said. “We are all in this together.”
To make donations accessible, Harmony123 has established an online contribution page through Zeffy, which verifies nonprofit status and tracks payments.
All Harmony123 members, officers and board members are volunteers, and the organization said 100 percent of donations go toward charitable support.
“For $80, you can become a ‘Granola Bar Angel’ for a week, providing 50 students at Sprout U with a granola bar a day,” Zhang said. “And to make sure that the kids can still get their granola bars next week, please send the donation link to a friend to follow in your footsteps.”
Donations can be made online at zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/be-a-granola-bar-angel. Arrangements for in-person snack drop-offs can be made by emailing harmony123.contact@gmail.com.
“Your donations will allow students to focus on studying and teachers to focus on teaching,” Miller-Winrow said. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Harmony123 students are organizing a granola bar drive to provide daily snacks for students at Sprout U School of the Arts in Trenton.,
