High-Protein Soy Bagged in Cedar Rapids Heads to Guatemala Will Benefit School Children Who Are Hungry for Food and Education

April 3, 2007…The right food--arriving at the right place at the right time--can literally transform a child’s life. That’s why Iowa soybean growers gathered today at the Cargill plant in Cedar Rapids to witness the bagging of 100 metric tons of textured soy protein (tsp). The shipment is destined for Guatemalan school children where protein has the power to make a long-term difference in the lives of thousands of children who are hungry for food as well as education.

Before picture of Alicia, 4, and Leidy, 3, who were nursed back to health at children’s home in Guatemala with nutritious foods provided by Food For The Poor (FFP) Inc. FFP’s Cliff Feldman thanks U.S. soybean growers and others for helping make a long-term difference in children’s lives. Photo credit: Food For The Poor.

The tsp will transit approximately 1800 miles to reach school children in the mountainous central American country through a George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program led by non-profit organization, Food For the Poor (FFP), Inc. FFP’s Government Program Specialist Cliff Feldman requested the product from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because he has witnessed the difference proper nutrition has made in thousands of children. In his mind, two little Guatemalan girls exemplify the value of proper nutrition, including soy protein.

A group working with FFP found the girls on the verge of death from malnutrition. FFP gave the children milk, sugar and oil to stabilize them before introducing them to a quality-protein diet that included tsp. Today, the girls are not only alive, they are thriving, “They are learning and smart,” Feldman says. “Otherwise, they would have been dead.”  

Soy protein’s value to developing countries is exactly why Iowa and other soybean grower organizations created the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) program in 2000. WISHH has helped develop sustainable protein solutions in 23 countries from Latin America to Asia to Africa. Iowa soybean leaders Roy Arends and Roy Bardole serve on the WISHH board of directors. They went to the Cargill plant to witness the bagging of the tsp for FFP. “It is truly gratifying to see our soybean crop play such an important role in the lives of children and adults,” said Arends who serves on the Iowa Soybean Association board and is a soybean grower from Alexander, Iowa. “WISHH helps introduce high-protein soy to the fastest growing populations in the world who are eager to have better diets.”

“For a few cents per serving, high-protein soy can be added to foods that are already popular with children in developing countries,” adds Bardole who farms near Rippey and is the WISHH Vice Chairman. “Soy can be part of the solution for children to grow and learn.”

"Education is the most important ingredient for true growth and maturity of young people in the developing world,” Feldman says. “At Food For The Poor, Inc., our experience with extremely impoverished children has taught us that protein in the diet is of great importance in relation to better learning. Textured soy protein fulfills that protein requirement and the individuals that we assist enjoy cooking with it and using it as an integral part of their food basket. FFP is proud to be helping Guatemalan children learn and gain dietary wellness, and we thank USDA and the soybean producers for being our partners in this very important work…WISHH, the private voluntary organizations, the farmers; all of us together save lives."

FFP’s Guatemala program assists 160,000 school-age children as well as 100,000 preschool children and their mothers. The tsp Cargill is producing for Guatemala is 52 percent protein. It will add much-needed protein to tortillas, meat analogues and other local foods prepared for school children who rarely have the opportunity to eat meat.

“Cargill is pleased to play a central role in this important work of feeding and educating school children,” says Cargill Soy Protein Development Lead Gregg Nelson who also played a key role in the plant producing the nation’s first shipment of defatted soy flour under the U.S. Food for Peace program in June 2006. That product went to the West African nation of Burkina Faso.  

After picture of Alicia, 4, and Leidy, 3, who were nursed back to health at children’s home in Guatemala with nutritious foods provided by Food For The Poor (FFP) Inc. FFP’s Cliff Feldman thanks U.S. soybean growers and others for helping make a long-term difference in children’s lives. Photo credit: Food For The Poor.

New Legislation Would Expand International School Feeding
On March 21, a bipartisan group of Members of Congress introduced legislation to reauthorize the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) along with Representatives Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) introduced the bill to continue the program in fiscal years 2008 to 2012, under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill calls for increased funding over five years, beginning with $140 million in FY 2008 and reaching $300 million in FY 2012.

Sustainable Long-Term Development is the Goal
The McGovern-Dole program, FFP and WISHH are all focused on long-term sustainable development. For example, FFP is helping create parent-teacher associations in the communities where it works with school feeding so that the community has the infrastructure and leadership to continue school meal programs. Meanwhile, WISHH provides technical assistance to private voluntary organizations and entrepreneurs that want to use soy.

About WISHH
State soybean grower organizations launched the WISHH Program in 2000. WISHH is headquartered at the American Soybean Association in St. Louis, and it creates sustainable solutions for the protein demands of people in developing countries through the introduction and use of U.S. soy products. WISHH has worked in 23 countries, ranging from Africa to Asia to Latin America, to improve diets as well as encourage growth of food industries. For more information, please visit www.wishh.org.

The Iowa Soybean Association develops policies and programs that help farmers expand profit opportunities while promoting environmentally sensitive production using the soybean checkoff and other resources. The Association is governed by an elected volunteer board of 21 farmers. www.iasoybeans.com

Food For The Poor (FFP), the 3rd largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than simply feed the millions of hungry poor in 16 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. They provide 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% of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. http://www.foodforthepoor.org

--30--

For more information, contact: Karen Edwards, World Initiative for Soy in Human Health 703-281-7600 karen@kcegroup.com mobile 703-625-8230
  
Ann Briere, Food For The Poor Inc. (954) 427-2222 x6614 annb@foodforthepoor.com