You may have seen students of Cardozo in the hallways, pushing a snack cart along, selling delicious treats like chips, candy, and drinks. The snack cart, a student-run business, is something that has been around at Cardozo since 2019 and is a joint effort of the speech department and the instructional support office.
Originally, the cart was started in 2019 by Ms. Spang, but was taken over by Ms. Franzese. Ms. Korotki, the Assistant Principal of Instructional Support Services, helps to run the cart and figure out which students want to “work” the cart during school hours. Students are able to sell snacks to different classrooms, offices, and departments around the school building.
Korotki explained, “We love the snack cart because not only it provides snakes and goodies it also gives our kids an opportunity to interact with people they don’t normally interact with on a normal basis, while helping them build their social skills and their confidence.” By doing this it would spread into people talking or just giving students and teachers a chance to know what the snack cart is about.
The money from the snack cart goes into an account for students in the ISS department who may need extra money for senior dues, prom dues, or maybe just needs some help with money at home due to family situations.
Ms. Franzese shared, “If kids would come to me saying ‘Miss, I need clothes or any type of food,’ I would go take the money from there and get what they need.” This shows how the ISS snack cart helps to give back to not only Cardozo, but also the students who are working on the cart service.
Mrs Franzese also stated that the cart isn’t just about saving the money but, “[it’s] also helping my students with the skills they are struggling in” it helps students in the ISS program to connect and step out of their own comfort zone.”
The snack cart has food such as cookies, candy bars, chips, popcorn, crackers, and drinks such as water, seltzer, and Snapple.
Cory Barnes, a student at Cardozo who works the snack cart, said it gives him a chance to work on his social skills and his math skills, too. He explained that he learns how to add, subtract, and count bills when he is collecting money. When asked if he enjoys doing the snack cart, he said, “Heck yea I do.”
Ms. Korotki said that although the pandemic stalled some of their plans, “We are looking for ways to expand the snack cart.”
And, the display of love for the snack cart is seen all over Cardozo. Assistant Principal of Social Studies, Naval Sciences, and Music, Mr Georgatos, confessed, “I love it a lot. I like it because I get to see kids happy selling.”
“When you’re hungry, it’s there and it’s $1 so I’m 100% for it,” he added. Not only do the students enjoy doing the snack cart and having other students buy from it, teachers also love it because it’s affordable and it’s always available and on hand.
So, the next time you see the snack cart rolling by, make sure you buy a treat and know you’re contributing to something bigger than just a snack.
