DICK & JANE HELD: EDUCATIONAL SNACKS
What are the odds a couple named Dick and Jane might be involved with helping little kids learn? Well, Dick, ’85, and Jane Held, ’85, who met on the MSU campus in 1982 because of a cookie, are in the business of producing educational baked goods for kids. Their Troy-based company, Dick & Jane Educational Snacks, produce whole grain, nut-free cookies that teach kids about state capitals and presidents, and words in both English and Spanish. “We’ve created something new and so unique that everywhere we go people are blown away by it,” says Dick, who came up with the idea five years ago when he saw tots learning about animals when noshing on Animal Crackers. Dick and Jane initially distributed the cookies via schools. “We’re in thousands of school districts in 31 states, including 50 of the 100 largest districts in the country,” says Dick. “Right now we’re going through the approval process for New York city, which serves 1.3 million students daily.” In early 2013, the products have been made available at the retail level—via Whole Foods Markets—and also internationally in such places as Seoul, South Korea. “We’re in 380 stores and hope to be in 5,000 by next summer,” says Dick, who previously worked in the retail ski business and credits an MSU advertising class with inspiring his entrepreneurial vision. They have also founded the Dick and Jane Foundation, to help kids “eat right and do well in school,” their motto. Dick and Jane met when they were sophomores living in McDonnell Hall. Dick’s roommate Rob had some fresh cookies and Jane, passing by, asked if she could have one. Rob said “No.” Dick jumped up, handed her a cookie and said, “Hi, I’m Dick.” The rest has been a fairy tale story. They have four children—the oldest just graduated from MSU, the next is currently a student, and two others are hoping to join their siblings. “To answer a question everyone asks, no, we don’t have a dog called Spot,” says Dick with a chuckle. “Our dog is called Starbucks.”
# # #