The first student dashes through the door at Whitefish Foursquare Church just seconds after the final bell at the middle school across the street. Another two follow just moments later.

The early birds know to get to the church quickly if they want the best selection of treats.

School lets out at 3:22 p.m., and by 3:30 p.m., the banquet room at the church is filled with kids chatting and doing homework while enjoying hot cider, homemade cupcakes and cookies, or veggies and string cheese.

The church’s After 3:22 snack program is now in its eighth year and its popularity among students is growing at an unprecedented clip.

“We’ve grown by 50 percent over last year,” program coordinator Deb Simons said. “It’s been so well received and appreciated.”

On a busy day, the church will feed more than 180 students while also providing a safe and convenient place for them to congregate after the final bell.

The church has always relied on private donations to fund the program’s modest annual budget.

A member of the congregation gave the program $10,000 when he died, but that money will run out within a year or two.

In anticipation of the funding gap, Simons approached Montana Coffee Traders about creating an After 3:22 roast, with a portion of sales going back to the program.

Managers at Coffee Traders loved the idea and the new Brew for After 3:22 debuted at the Christmas Stroll. The coffee will be available for purchase at the church, Coffee Traders and grocery stores in town.

“Coffee Traders has been awesome,” Simons said. “Our hope is the coffee will generate revenue to keep this program alive.”

The program operates on all-volunteer labor, so all funds from coffee sales will go directly toward purchasing food for the kids.

The program began by circumstance on a rainy October day in 2007. Students were filtering out of the middle school after class and found shelter from the rain under the church’s front canopy.

Church leaders noticed a few students they knew and invited the youths inside for a snack while they waited for their parents to pick them up.

Since that day, it’s grown into a three-day-a-week program that both kids and parents count on.

The church has about three regular volunteers and six substitutes who stay with the kids until 5:30 p.m., or until the last one is picked up.

On a recent Thursday, Simons and her husband greeted each student with a smile and a cupcake.

Simons tries to remember the name of every child who walks through the door, and the kids have fun testing her memory.

“These kids have grabbed my heart and I adore greeting them,” Simons said.

“Sometimes they’ll ask us why we do this. We just say that we simply want them to know they matter. When I remember their name — that’s a big deal to them.”

To learn more about the program, call 862-1653.