Students at Sumner Elementary School had surprise visitors Wednesday morning as volunteers from Hormel Foods delivered and read new books to their classrooms.

The books were purchased thanks to the First Books grant, which was awarded to Sumner for the first time, according to Sumner Elementary School Principal Sheila Berger.

“We had a teacher reach out to First Books and write a grant application,” she said. “We were selected and they partnered with Hormel to bring the books to us.”

Berger called the amount of money provided by the grant “an extreme gift.”

“We don’t have that kind of money to spend normally,” she said.

Sumner staff is trying to pick books that reflect the diverse background of the school’s student body.

“We are working really hard to find books in which our students can see themselves in the characters,” Berger said. “We’re looking for books that have characteristics and characters from all different backgrounds. Being able to have access to a whole bunch of choices is amazing. We were very specific in our selections when we went into the first book site and tried to find things that match who we are serving.”

“We’re very grateful to be a recipient,” she added. “This is a great pleasure for us.”