COCONUT Creek, Fla., (Nov. 25, 2013) – We have a day for giving thanks, why not a day for giving back? For the second year, Food For The Poor has joined #GivingTuesday, an initiative to harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners – charities, families, businesses and individuals – to transform how people think about, talk about, and participate in the giving season.
Coinciding with Thanksgiving, and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday will inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities. It will also inspire many to give back in better and smarter ways to the charities and causes they support, and help create a better world.
Taking place Dec. 3, 2013, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, #GivingTuesday will use the power of social media to create a national movement around the holidays, similar to how Black Friday and Cyber Monday have become days synonymous with holiday shopping.
“Food For The Poor is extremely honored be a part of #GivingTuesday. It is quickly becoming a global movement, which celebrates and encourages charitable activities that support nonprofit organizations,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “It’s great to know that so many nonprofits, within the United States and internationally, are working together to make life better for as many people as possible.”
In 2012, more than 50 million people worldwide spread the word about #GivingTuesday resulting in a milestone trending on Twitter. The collective efforts of partners, donors and advocates also helped to fuel a marked increase in charitable giving.
Visit www.foodforthepoor.org/givingtuesday to support Food For The Poor’s #GivingTuesday initiative. You can also view the charity’s catalog video for creative ideas that will continue to change lives long after the holiday season has ended. For $10, you can give the gift of a fruit tree, or you can choose to give farm animals such as chickens, pigs, goats, donkeys and cows, which can provide an income and a source of nutrition for destitute families.
For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website www.givingtuesday.org, Facebook page www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday or follow the #GivingTuesday hashtag on Twitter.
Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Showing posts with label malnutrition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label malnutrition. Show all posts
Monday, November 25, 2013
Friday, July 6, 2012
Dietary science students serve in Guatemala
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (July 5, 2012) — On a recent mission trip to Guatemala with Food For The Poor, dietary science students and an Olivet Nazarene University professor had the opportunity to put their hearts and classroom lessons to work in feeding and malnutrition centers. They measured tiny arms, checking for bone length and muscle mass, and they weighed the children and checked their height.
All of this was done with one goal in mind – to help prevent the kind of childhood malnutrition that stunts the mental and physical development of so many children living in poverty in developing countries. Guatemala has a poverty rate of more than 50 percent and the chronic malnutrition rate is the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
Cathy Anstrom, Ph.D., has been at Olivet for 17 years and is a professor and director of the Dietetic Program there. She had traveled to Guatemala 10 years ago, and was eager to lead the group of students on what would become a life-changing experience for them. It turned out to be a different experience for her, as well.
“This time I left with a sense of hope for the people that we were visiting with, and helping,” Dr. Anstrom said. “The last time – and this is such a clear memory for me even though it was a long time ago – I remember thinking I don’t know how these people are going to survive.”
Seeing the women and children in their home environments and then serving them later at the feeding centers, where they also were weighed and measured, provided a way for the girls to connect with the children, she said. Her interest in Food For The Poor projects involving hunger and malnutrition stems from a course she began teaching 17 years ago on World Food Problems, which addressed possible group and individual solutions to this debilitating problem.
“I thought, if I teach anything to these students, I hope it is that these people are your brothers, your sisters,” Dr. Anstrom said. “We are global; it’s not us and them.”
Megan Grise, from Piqua, Ohio, graduated in May as a student of Dr. Anstrom’s, and now wants to specialize in pediatric nutrition.
“I got a lot out of going into the homes and witnessing the needs of the poor. There was a little boy, he was 7, rolling newspapers to sell to help feed the family. He was not complaining, just quietly working,” Megan said. “When we talked to him, he and his little brother told us that when they got very hungry, they would drink the glue made of a little corn starch and water. It just broke my heart.”
When the girls traveled later to the feeding center, they had a chance to feed the boys a meal along with the other children and see the confidence the women gained from having provisions for their families. The women brought firewood to the center to exchange for a meal of soup and tortillas. Then they assisted with the cooking and serving. If there is enough food available at the feeding centers, the women can take some home.
“We are so grateful for the help provided for the poor on this trip by the students and Dr. Anstrom,” said Angel Aloma, executive director of Food For The Poor. “Their practical skills, combined with their true heart for the poor, elevated this trip for everyone involved. Helping those suffering from malnutrition goes to the very core of our work.”
One form of malnutrition is scarcity of nutrients, which is common in a diet that relies mainly on starch. At one home, the mother had only a corn tortilla and salt to offer her little ones. In a country where round cheeks sometimes are mistaken for health, simple blood tests show that the children are desperately deficient of vital nutrients necessary for brain and muscle development.
Another form of malnutrition is caused by food scarcity. Some children may go days without eating, while parents struggle to find food. The students met a child at the San Juan Nutritional Center who weighed just 22 pounds and was almost 6 years old. She is one of about 60 children there who range from infancy to age 8, and who have been brought there because they are near death. On average, about two-thirds of the children admitted to the center are nourished back to health.
The reality of the level of poverty struck University of Florida student Allie North when the group visited the home of a mother and her children.
“I saw a child eat a chicken bone off the ground. He just picked it up and gnawed on it, because it was all they had. It was very sad and hard to believe that only two hours away from my home that people were living like this,” said Allie, who is a food science and human nutrition major at UF, and lives in Boca Raton, Fla. “When I originally declared my major, I wanted to be able to work with obesity and eating disorders, but this was a whole eye-opening experience.
“I examined my life when I got home, looked at my full refrigerator and thought about how those children live and it made me incredibly sad,” said Allie. “I want to help people like that. They really need our help.”
Upon their return to the United States, the group decided to raise funds to help the Dolores Nutritional Center Restoration project located in Dolores, El Peten, Guatemala. The center focuses on mild to severe malnutrition cases, particularly mothers and children suffering from chronic malnutrition. The project goal is to provide needed repairs to the center that will create a much safer environment for those receiving care.
Checks to support the project can be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla., 33073, using the source code 86122 in the memo field.
Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.org
All of this was done with one goal in mind – to help prevent the kind of childhood malnutrition that stunts the mental and physical development of so many children living in poverty in developing countries. Guatemala has a poverty rate of more than 50 percent and the chronic malnutrition rate is the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
Cathy Anstrom, Ph.D., has been at Olivet for 17 years and is a professor and director of the Dietetic Program there. She had traveled to Guatemala 10 years ago, and was eager to lead the group of students on what would become a life-changing experience for them. It turned out to be a different experience for her, as well.
“This time I left with a sense of hope for the people that we were visiting with, and helping,” Dr. Anstrom said. “The last time – and this is such a clear memory for me even though it was a long time ago – I remember thinking I don’t know how these people are going to survive.”
Seeing the women and children in their home environments and then serving them later at the feeding centers, where they also were weighed and measured, provided a way for the girls to connect with the children, she said. Her interest in Food For The Poor projects involving hunger and malnutrition stems from a course she began teaching 17 years ago on World Food Problems, which addressed possible group and individual solutions to this debilitating problem.
“I thought, if I teach anything to these students, I hope it is that these people are your brothers, your sisters,” Dr. Anstrom said. “We are global; it’s not us and them.”
Megan Grise, from Piqua, Ohio, graduated in May as a student of Dr. Anstrom’s, and now wants to specialize in pediatric nutrition.
“I got a lot out of going into the homes and witnessing the needs of the poor. There was a little boy, he was 7, rolling newspapers to sell to help feed the family. He was not complaining, just quietly working,” Megan said. “When we talked to him, he and his little brother told us that when they got very hungry, they would drink the glue made of a little corn starch and water. It just broke my heart.”
When the girls traveled later to the feeding center, they had a chance to feed the boys a meal along with the other children and see the confidence the women gained from having provisions for their families. The women brought firewood to the center to exchange for a meal of soup and tortillas. Then they assisted with the cooking and serving. If there is enough food available at the feeding centers, the women can take some home.
“We are so grateful for the help provided for the poor on this trip by the students and Dr. Anstrom,” said Angel Aloma, executive director of Food For The Poor. “Their practical skills, combined with their true heart for the poor, elevated this trip for everyone involved. Helping those suffering from malnutrition goes to the very core of our work.”
One form of malnutrition is scarcity of nutrients, which is common in a diet that relies mainly on starch. At one home, the mother had only a corn tortilla and salt to offer her little ones. In a country where round cheeks sometimes are mistaken for health, simple blood tests show that the children are desperately deficient of vital nutrients necessary for brain and muscle development.
Another form of malnutrition is caused by food scarcity. Some children may go days without eating, while parents struggle to find food. The students met a child at the San Juan Nutritional Center who weighed just 22 pounds and was almost 6 years old. She is one of about 60 children there who range from infancy to age 8, and who have been brought there because they are near death. On average, about two-thirds of the children admitted to the center are nourished back to health.
The reality of the level of poverty struck University of Florida student Allie North when the group visited the home of a mother and her children.
“I saw a child eat a chicken bone off the ground. He just picked it up and gnawed on it, because it was all they had. It was very sad and hard to believe that only two hours away from my home that people were living like this,” said Allie, who is a food science and human nutrition major at UF, and lives in Boca Raton, Fla. “When I originally declared my major, I wanted to be able to work with obesity and eating disorders, but this was a whole eye-opening experience.
“I examined my life when I got home, looked at my full refrigerator and thought about how those children live and it made me incredibly sad,” said Allie. “I want to help people like that. They really need our help.”
Upon their return to the United States, the group decided to raise funds to help the Dolores Nutritional Center Restoration project located in Dolores, El Peten, Guatemala. The center focuses on mild to severe malnutrition cases, particularly mothers and children suffering from chronic malnutrition. The project goal is to provide needed repairs to the center that will create a much safer environment for those receiving care.
Checks to support the project can be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla., 33073, using the source code 86122 in the memo field.
Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.org
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
WLRN raises funds to feed more than 600 children in Haiti
Thanks to the generosity of Friends of WLRN and 91.3 WLRN’s radio listeners, the South Florida public radio station raised enough money to feed more than 600 children in Haiti for six months. For the second time this year, this much-needed assistance has come during a time when soaring food and fuel prices are putting a strain on nonprofits.
“Words cannot express the gratitude Food For The Poor has for the Friends of WLRN and 91.3 WLRN for helping us to provide food to feed hundreds of children in Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “This is a tremendous blessing and many lives will be saved as a result.”
Through the station’s generosity in three previous campaigns, more than 2,000 children were fed through Food For The Poor’s feeding programs. In Haiti, more than half of the population, including two-thirds of the children, suffers from malnutrition. In Haiti, 76 of every 1,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday.
“Starving children in this world is a tragedy and unfortunately is the harsh reality of thousands of children in Haiti,” said Wagner Previato, Director of Marketing and Membership for Friends of WLRN. “We are thankful to our members in South Florida and humbled for the opportunity to help feed Haitian children through the Food For The Poor program”.
Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
“Words cannot express the gratitude Food For The Poor has for the Friends of WLRN and 91.3 WLRN for helping us to provide food to feed hundreds of children in Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “This is a tremendous blessing and many lives will be saved as a result.”
Through the station’s generosity in three previous campaigns, more than 2,000 children were fed through Food For The Poor’s feeding programs. In Haiti, more than half of the population, including two-thirds of the children, suffers from malnutrition. In Haiti, 76 of every 1,000 children die before reaching their fifth birthday.
“Starving children in this world is a tragedy and unfortunately is the harsh reality of thousands of children in Haiti,” said Wagner Previato, Director of Marketing and Membership for Friends of WLRN. “We are thankful to our members in South Florida and humbled for the opportunity to help feed Haitian children through the Food For The Poor program”.
Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Food For The Poor awarded USDA program funding for Nicaragua
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Food For The Poor 4,690 metric tons of food for children in Nicaragua over the next three years. The goal is to improve the education, nutrition, and health conditions of school-aged children in under-served communities in Nicaragua. During a three year period, approximately 275 containers of food will be distributed in the country’s most impoverished communities.
The World Food Program identifies Nicaragua as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, behind only Haiti in terms of per capita income and the market value of all goods and services produced in the country. Low literacy rates, high dropout numbers, and poor academic performance are direct measurable consequences of widespread food insecurity, where low-income households often rely on children to increase the family’s income and in some cases, assist with subsistence farming.
“For some of the students who live in extreme poverty, this USDA program may give them the opportunity to taste milk for the first time,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Malnutrition denies many children the opportunity to live life to their fullest potential. More than half of these families in rural areas live on less than $2 a day.”
Approximately 260 schools will participate in the USDA Food For Education program in Nicaragua. Plans call for 70,000 preschool to primary school-age children in northern and central Nicaragua to benefit from this feeding program. From 2011 to 2014, more than 37 million meals will be provided to students. The children will receive nutritional meals prepared from nonfat dried milk, red kidney beans, rice, textured soy protein, and vegetable oil.
The majority of beneficiaries are located in Estelí, Matagalpa, Jinotega, Nueva Segovia and Madriz. According to recent regional poverty assessments, nearly one-third of the population lives in extreme poverty. Chronic malnutrition and food deficits affect 50 percent of school-aged children and literacy levels fall below national averages – only three out of every 10 will finish high school.
Students will receive a morning snack and a hot meal for lunch each day. In addition, this program will fund the installation of 120 latrines, repairs to school kitchens, establish school gardens, and provide multi-disciplinary training for parents and teachers.
Food For The Poor has assisted Nicaragua since 1997. The American Nicaraguan Foundation has been a partner of Food For The Poor for 14 years, and during 2010 Food For The Poor shipped 343 containers of aid valued at more than $114.5 million to the country.
Food For The Poor was previously awarded a USDA Food For Education program in 2005 to benefit 65,000 school children in Nicaragua. Over the years, Food For The Poor has received additional funding from the USDA to support programs in Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad.
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
The World Food Program identifies Nicaragua as the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, behind only Haiti in terms of per capita income and the market value of all goods and services produced in the country. Low literacy rates, high dropout numbers, and poor academic performance are direct measurable consequences of widespread food insecurity, where low-income households often rely on children to increase the family’s income and in some cases, assist with subsistence farming.“For some of the students who live in extreme poverty, this USDA program may give them the opportunity to taste milk for the first time,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Malnutrition denies many children the opportunity to live life to their fullest potential. More than half of these families in rural areas live on less than $2 a day.”
Approximately 260 schools will participate in the USDA Food For Education program in Nicaragua. Plans call for 70,000 preschool to primary school-age children in northern and central Nicaragua to benefit from this feeding program. From 2011 to 2014, more than 37 million meals will be provided to students. The children will receive nutritional meals prepared from nonfat dried milk, red kidney beans, rice, textured soy protein, and vegetable oil.
The majority of beneficiaries are located in Estelí, Matagalpa, Jinotega, Nueva Segovia and Madriz. According to recent regional poverty assessments, nearly one-third of the population lives in extreme poverty. Chronic malnutrition and food deficits affect 50 percent of school-aged children and literacy levels fall below national averages – only three out of every 10 will finish high school.
Students will receive a morning snack and a hot meal for lunch each day. In addition, this program will fund the installation of 120 latrines, repairs to school kitchens, establish school gardens, and provide multi-disciplinary training for parents and teachers.
Food For The Poor has assisted Nicaragua since 1997. The American Nicaraguan Foundation has been a partner of Food For The Poor for 14 years, and during 2010 Food For The Poor shipped 343 containers of aid valued at more than $114.5 million to the country.
Food For The Poor was previously awarded a USDA Food For Education program in 2005 to benefit 65,000 school children in Nicaragua. Over the years, Food For The Poor has received additional funding from the USDA to support programs in Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad.
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Food For The Poor, Hormel Foods Unite to Help Malnourished Children
Children suffering from life-threatening malnutrition will be provided with nourishing food through an innovative initiative by Food For The Poor and Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL).
Hormel Foods, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers and marketers of consumer-branded meat and food products, has introduced Spammy™, a fortified, shelf-stable turkey spread to help address childhood malnutrition. Over the past 18 months, the charity and Hormel Foods have worked in family centers and orphanages in Guatemala to introduce the food to children and their mothers.
“Through our partnership with Hormel Foods, we are able to provide much-needed protein to the women and children of Guatemala, and we are already seeing progress,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO for Food For The Poor. “The children who eat Spammy™ are more active, their grades are improving, and overall, they are happier and healthier.”
Spammy™ is a shelf-stable turkey spread that has been fortified with zinc, iron, B vitamins, and other essential vitamins and minerals. The mothers mix it with foods common in their culture – rice and beans – or simply spread it on tortillas, which the children consume with gusto.
“Hormel Foods sought to create a product high in protein to help serve malnourished and poverty-stricken communities worldwide,” said Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods. “Our company has years of experience in creating shelf-stable proteins, so we employed our expertise to create this new product.”
Hormel Foods has made an initial three-year commitment to deliver 1 million cans of Spammy™ to destitute families in Guatemala through partners Food For The Poor and Caritas Arquidiocesana in 2011. Guatemala was selected because its poverty rate is more than 50 percent and the chronic malnutrition rate is the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
Food For The Poor is a relief and development organization that provides direct relief and development assistance to the poor in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Caritas Arquidiocesana is a charity committed to combating poverty.
In addition to the Guatemala initiative, Hormel Foods worked with Food For The Poor and donated more than 100,000 cans of Spammy™ to Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010.
Silgan Containers and Smyth Companies, two longtime suppliers of Hormel Foods, are supporting the cause by donating all of the cans and labels for Spammy™.
Hormel Foods and Food For The Poor created a website to allow individuals to contribute to the Spammy™ program. All donations through the website will go directly and fully to Food For The Poor to purchase Spammy™ fortified turkey spread at cost from Hormel Foods. The product then will be shipped by Food For The Poor to Guatemala and distributed at the orphanages, day care centers, nutritional centers and family centers within the Caritas Arquidiocesana network.
To make a donation or learn more about Spammy™ or Food For The Poor, please visit the charity's Spammy page.
To learn more about the partnership, please visit Food For The Poor's YouTube channel.
About Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. The company leverages its extensive expertise, innovation and high competencies in pork and turkey processing and marketing to bring branded, value-added products to the global marketplace. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes, Global 1000 Sustainable Performance Leaders and was named one of “The 100 Most Trustworthy Companies” by Forbes in 2010. The company enjoys a strong reputation among consumers, retail grocers, foodservice and industrial customers for products highly regarded for quality, taste, nutrition, convenience and value. For more information, visit Hormel's website.
About Caritas Arquidiocesana
Caritas Arquidiocesana serves the poor, the sick, and the abandoned in Guatemala.
About Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.
Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com
Hormel Foods, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers and marketers of consumer-branded meat and food products, has introduced Spammy™, a fortified, shelf-stable turkey spread to help address childhood malnutrition. Over the past 18 months, the charity and Hormel Foods have worked in family centers and orphanages in Guatemala to introduce the food to children and their mothers.
“Through our partnership with Hormel Foods, we are able to provide much-needed protein to the women and children of Guatemala, and we are already seeing progress,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO for Food For The Poor. “The children who eat Spammy™ are more active, their grades are improving, and overall, they are happier and healthier.”Spammy™ is a shelf-stable turkey spread that has been fortified with zinc, iron, B vitamins, and other essential vitamins and minerals. The mothers mix it with foods common in their culture – rice and beans – or simply spread it on tortillas, which the children consume with gusto.
“Hormel Foods sought to create a product high in protein to help serve malnourished and poverty-stricken communities worldwide,” said Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods. “Our company has years of experience in creating shelf-stable proteins, so we employed our expertise to create this new product.”
Hormel Foods has made an initial three-year commitment to deliver 1 million cans of Spammy™ to destitute families in Guatemala through partners Food For The Poor and Caritas Arquidiocesana in 2011. Guatemala was selected because its poverty rate is more than 50 percent and the chronic malnutrition rate is the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
Food For The Poor is a relief and development organization that provides direct relief and development assistance to the poor in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Caritas Arquidiocesana is a charity committed to combating poverty.
In addition to the Guatemala initiative, Hormel Foods worked with Food For The Poor and donated more than 100,000 cans of Spammy™ to Haiti after the earthquake in January 2010.
Silgan Containers and Smyth Companies, two longtime suppliers of Hormel Foods, are supporting the cause by donating all of the cans and labels for Spammy™.
Hormel Foods and Food For The Poor created a website to allow individuals to contribute to the Spammy™ program. All donations through the website will go directly and fully to Food For The Poor to purchase Spammy™ fortified turkey spread at cost from Hormel Foods. The product then will be shipped by Food For The Poor to Guatemala and distributed at the orphanages, day care centers, nutritional centers and family centers within the Caritas Arquidiocesana network.
To make a donation or learn more about Spammy™ or Food For The Poor, please visit the charity's Spammy page.
To learn more about the partnership, please visit Food For The Poor's YouTube channel.
About Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. The company leverages its extensive expertise, innovation and high competencies in pork and turkey processing and marketing to bring branded, value-added products to the global marketplace. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes, Global 1000 Sustainable Performance Leaders and was named one of “The 100 Most Trustworthy Companies” by Forbes in 2010. The company enjoys a strong reputation among consumers, retail grocers, foodservice and industrial customers for products highly regarded for quality, taste, nutrition, convenience and value. For more information, visit Hormel's website.
About Caritas Arquidiocesana
Caritas Arquidiocesana serves the poor, the sick, and the abandoned in Guatemala.
About Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.
Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Through Dec. 31, gifts for feeding Haiti’s children are being doubled
Can you imagine having to tell your children that "today is not your turn to eat?"While visiting earthquake-devastated Haiti earlier this year, Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma witnessed one child eating a handful of rice while his older brother merely watched. "Today is not my turn to eat," the boy told Aloma.
Haiti is home to entire families that have not eaten for days. With these families in mind, please send us your greatest gift possible. Gifts made by Friday, December 31, are tax-deductible and will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $250,000. Time is running out to save lives.
Please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/yearendfoodgift to give these children a gift -- the gift of food.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)