Ian Johnson figures that for the price of two of his favorite Giugni sandwiches, a couple of sodas and bags of chips, he can save the life of a child.

Katie Begerow believes she could do the same for the cost of four of the hot lunches served at her elementary school.

The two seventh graders at Pacific Union College Elementary School are part of a fundraiser initiated by fellow student Lauren Madrigal over Christmas break. Together with seventh-grader Stefaan Dick and eighth-grader Joshua Penners, they’ve started the Plumpy Nut Project — a lighthearted name for a serious undertaking.

Their plan — to raise $2,265 to pay for needed supplies of Plumpy Nut, an enriched peanut-based paste developed for famine relief in 1999 by a French scientist. If the students reach their goal there will be enough to treat 151 severely malnourished children in the African country of Malawi — a country with a 23 percent mortality rate for children under 5.

The fundraiser was kicked-off last week at a school assembly where the team presented its project and goals to the school’s 151 students and staff members.

“The paste with vitamins and minerals has a 90 percent to 95 percent success rate,” said Madrigal, who first learned of the peanut product while watching a segment on malnutrition and hunger on “60 Minutes.” Included on the show was an interview with Dr. Mark Manary, a St. Louis, Mo. pediatrician who founded Project Peanut Butter in Malawi nearly nine years ago, and built a factory there to make the ready-to-use therapeutic food.

Ailing youngsters in the free program are given the paste at home, either from small packets or out of a plastic tub. They are regularly checked by a visiting medical team which weighs and measures them and checks their progress. They are taken off treatment when they reach the average height, weight and arm circumference for their age group.

After seeing the show, Madrigal took immediate action. Instead of Christmas presents she asked that their cost go to the project.

“But I thought we could have made it more successful if we did it as a group,” she recalled.

When school started up again Madrigal presented her plan to the parent group. Ellen Dick, a former relief worker in Africa, learned about it and mentioned it to her son.

“I said I’d love to be in the group,” Dick said. “Then one day at lunch we were talking about how we were going to do this and Katie walks up. Then Ian sat down, asking ‘What are you guys doing?’”

Soon Penners joined the team, impressed that “just $15 can make such a difference. For $15 you can save a child’s life.”

The students pulled out all the stops. They went online and learned all they could about the peanut-based paste. Then they planned their strategy. They made “I saved a life” buttons for the younger contributors. With encouragement from their families, Dick created a poster and put together a Powerpoint presentation, and Madrigal honed a presentation speech.

Additional support came from an unexpected corner — United States President Barack Obama — said Madrigal, who watched the inauguration unfold in her classroom.

“He said in his speech we can all make a difference.”

During Monday’s lunchtime presentation the five encouraged interested students to skip their lunches.

“We asked them to come have a spoonful of peanut butter so they can feel what it’s like to be hungry on a very minor scale, compared to what it’s like for these kids in Africa,” Dick said.

For every $15 collected — whether it’s in a lump sum or $3 or $5 at a time — sunny  yellow paper covering a hallway bulletin board will be torn away to reveal a student or staff photo beneath.

If the fundraiser goes well, the face of every student and every staff member will be revealed before school ends for the summer.

Madrigal hopes the fundraiser will inspire others to start their own projects.

 “Anybody can make a difference,” Johnson said.