The Power Lunch Reading Program is a national literacy based mentoring program aimed at building reading skills and a love of reading among elementary students. Power Lunch was established in the Cloquet School District in the mid 1990’s and matches community volunteers with teacher selected first and second grade students at both Churchill and Washington Elementary Schools.

The goal of Power Lunch is to show emerging readers that reading is fun, worthwhile, and a life-long benefit. Volunteers are partnered with students and meet with them one hour per week during their lunch period. Students and volunteers share lunch together in the school's media center, spend a brief time socializing, and then read together in a one-on-one setting.

Power Lunch is made possible with financial support from the Cloquet Educational Foundation, Northland Foundation, Sappi Fine Paper, BNSF Railway Foundation, Lake Country Power, Cloquet Rotary, Walmart, Target, Churchill Elementary PIE, and Washington Elementary PIE.

For more information or if you are interested in becoming a regular or substitute reader, please contact the Power Lunch Coordinator Stephanie Pederson at 218-879-3308 ext. 4105 or email spederson@isd94.org

Power Lunch: Inspiring Readers ... Building Leaders