Bologna’s Shri Bark is Now a Key Nutritional Hit in RI Schools
Bologna’s Shri Bark is Now a Key Nutritional Hit in RI Schools
For the TV newswoman, her effort to help children, veterans and other members of the community is a journey dedicated to transforming the lives of individuals to find a healthier and more satisfied life.
It started nearly a decade ago when Alison Bologna opened Shri Studio, an urban outreach yoga studio, in downtown Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 2009. During the past nine years while she held down anchoring news jobs in Boston and Providence -- she is the morning anchor on WJAR-10's morning broadcast -- she taught yoga and with her partner spent time baking snacks in their loft.
Not just any snacks.
Now, fast forward nine years later and her efforts are transforming lives and promoting healthy eating.
Her snacks Shri Bark are now a morning healthy staple in many Rhode Island schools — more than 13,000 are eaten by Rhode Island school children monthly.
The bars are made in Rhode Island and some of the business success is due to the help of RI Commerce says Bologna.
“Our snacks are served as part of the reduced / free breakfast programs and in lunches too,” she says. Commerce RI helped connect her to other partners that allowed the expansion of the program.
But, the once yoga studio is turning into a global effort — training, feeding and inspiring. The programs promoting mindfulness is now being taken to other states like Massachusetts and Connecticut and as far away as India.
