Latter-day Saint Charities provides 30 million meals to children in 9 developing countries

4 Feb 2021, 2:33 PM MST

Latter-day Saint Charities’ contributions to provide meals for school children are ongoing and needed in several countries around the world, Elder Gerrit W. Gong said in a Feb. 4, 2021, Newsroom release. Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

By Sydney Walker

In a partnership with Convoy of Hope and its food vendor, Feed My Starving Children, Latter-day Saint Charities is helping fund school feeding programs and giving needed nutrition to children around the world.

“Hungry children need food,” said Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in a Feb. 3 Newsroom release. “With one humanitarian partner, we are delivering 30 million meals to school children in nine developing countries. Each meal plate includes 482 life-sustaining calories of grains, protein, vegetables and fruits. …

“While only a start, our humanitarian contributions are ongoing, needed and welcomed in vulnerable areas such as Somalia, Yemen, DR Congo, Haiti, and Zimbabwe, and in conflict regions in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, DR Congo and Africa’s Sahel region, among others.”

Latter-day Saint Charities is helping fund Convoy of Hope’s school feeding programs in several developing countries, according to a Feb. 4, 2021, Newsroom press release. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Convoy of Hope is a faith-based nonprofit that provides food, supplies and humanitarian aid to impoverished populations. The organization has remained resilient despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Procurement Director Paul Holzer said.

“Because of the relationships with the schools we serve, the Convoy of Hope teams in the field have been successful in maintaining the flow of critical food to students through take-home rations,” he said.

Dietician Cade Fields-Gardner has been working with Convoy of Hope’s vendor Feed My Starving Children on two new formulas of fortified rice called the MannaPack, originally developed in the early 1990s and now used in food-insecure areas in 70 countries. The new MannaPack Potato-D stabilizes symptoms of diarrhea, which is a leading killer of young children, and MannaPack Potato-W is a complementary food that helps wean infants 7 to 12 months old.

The United Nations predicted in July 2020 that COVID-19 disruptions could push an additional 130 million people into chronic hunger. Latter-day Saint Charities is helping provide 30 million meals to school children, according to a Feb. 3, 2021, Newsroom release. | Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“It has been extremely gratifying to work with Feed My Starving Children because they have been very progressive — ahead of the wave — in developing products for specific populations, needs and objectives,” Fields-Gardner told Newsroom.

“Their formulas to manage diarrhea and use after the exclusive breastfeeding period answer needs that were unmet until now. FMSC has developed exactly what was needed and recommended: food products to achieve very specific nutritional and health results.”

Read more about Latter-day Saint Charities’ efforts to help hungry children on the Church’s Newsroom website.