MFK in the News
MEDS & FOOD FOR KIDS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR HAITI AT SECOND-ANNUAL GALA AND AUCTION
St. Louis Magazine, by: Brittany Ruess
February 6, 2013
Meds & Food for Kids is set to host its second annual "Experience Kanaval" Gala and Auction on February 9th, 2013 at the St. Louis Science Center. The event is one of MFK's primary fundraising vehicles with all the proceeds from the evening going directly to benefit MFK's work in Haiti. The night will be celebrated with authentic and colorful Haitian fare, music, and art!
Read More: MEDS & FOOD FOR KIDS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR HAITI AT SECOND-ANNUAL GALA AND AUCTION THIS SATURDAY
_______________
Michelle Esswein Show: Meds and Food for Kids with Development Manager - Ashley Holmes
Oldies 103.3
January 13th, 2012
Michelle Esswein of the Michelle Esswein Show on St. Louis Oldies, 103.3 interviewed MFK's Development Manager, Ashley Holmes. Ashley discussed Meds & Food for Kids founding, history, and life-saving work in Haiti. She answered some of the Frequently-Asked-Questions and highlighted Meds & Food for Kids upcoming "Experience Kanaval" Gala and Auction of February 9th, 2012.
Hear More: Michelle Esswein Show: Meds & Food for Kids
_______________
Commentary: A public-private partnership helps Haiti’s smallholder peanut farmers succeed
Global Food for Thought, by: James Rhoads
November 8, 2012
James Rhoads, Meds & Food for Kids Agriculture Development Specialist, provides his perspective on MFK's agriculture development efforts in Haiti. And discusses the incredible outcomes of a recent agriculture study conducted with peanut farmers in Northern Haiti.
"Basic research trials, conducted in collaboration with farmers and agronomy students, led to the investigation of all aspects of production, including: soil preparation methods; seed and row spacing; fungicide and herbicide applications; and a variety of trials comparing peanut germplasm from Haiti to improved varieties from the US and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The principle result has been a total package of best practices available to farmers that improves profitability and reduces risk."
Read More: Commentary: A public-private partnership helps Haiti's smallholder peanut farmers succeed.
_______________
TPRF Joins Effort to End Serious Malnutrition among Children in Haiti
SYS.con Media, by: PR Newswire
November 8, 2012
'The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) has made a grant of US$10,000 to assist an ongoing campaign to end widespread malnutrition among children throughout the island nation of Haiti.
The funds will go to Meds & Food for Kids (MFK) and will buy peanuts to make Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food. The food, which is known locally as Medika Mamba or medical peanut butter, will be primarily made from peanuts purchased from Haitian farmers. The program's overall goal is to supply the high-protein, high-calorie food annually to an estimated 100,000 children who now suffer irreparable damage early in life due to insufficient nutrients in their diets.
"Both the short- and long-term benefits of this effort by MFK are impressive," says TPRF President Linda Pascotto. "MFK has assembled an effective program to help eradicate malnutrition and improve economic self-sufficiency. The choice of an enriched food that is already part of the local diet ensures that children enjoy it and parents are approving—an important ingredient for success."'
Read More: TPRF joins effort to end serious malnutrition
_______________
Haiti Health - Inauguration of a new production plant of Medika Mamba
Haitian Libre
October 27, 2012
Meds & Food for Kids' Factory opening was also featured on the Haitian news site Haitian Libre. As the article notes, MFK has certainly come a long way.
"The old facility of MFK, who was in a rented house converted, could produce "Medika Mamba" only to feed 8,000 children per year. With the new plant, production will be multiplied by 10 and help save 80,000 children per year, suffering from malnutrition in Haiti.
Read More: Inauguration of a new production plant of Medika Mamba
_______________
Meds & Food $3.2 Million Haitian Factory
St. Louis Business Journal by: Greta Welderman
October 26, 2012
Meds & Food for Kids' Factory opening was featured in the St. Louis Business Journal! The inauguration of the building was celebrated in Haiti with a riboon-cutting ceremony, several speakers, great fare, and tours of the brand new 18,000 square foot space. You can read more about the momentous day on MFK's blog: The Ribbon on the New Factory is Cut! Or read up on the St. Louis Business Journal's feature below.
Read More: Meds & Food $3.2 Million Haitian Factory
_______________
Haiti: Peanut Butter Could Be The Key To Aiding Poor Kids And Economies
Atlanta BlackStar by: John Hollis
October 5, 2012
Read Dr. Wolff's comments about RUTF, the founding of MFK, and the significance of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of malnutrition in this article in the Atlanta BlackStar.
"Pat Wolff, a pediatrician from St. Louis, founded an organization, Meds and Food for Kids in 2003, specifically to bring ready-to-use therapeutic food to Haiti. It started small, grinding up peanuts in a rented house in Cap-Haitien and stirring all of the ingredients together. The group called its product Medika Mamba and distributed it to local clinics.
Yet Wolff wasn’t satisfied.
'Why do you suppose those kids are malnourished?” she asked. “It’s because their parents have no money, and they have no money because they have no employment.' "
Read More: Haiti: Peanut Butter Could Be The Key To Aiding Poor Kids And Economies
_______________
RIT Grad Students lend a Sustainable Hand in Haiti
Rochester Technology by: Lauren Kiker
September 27, 2012
As part of a class in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering, Sarah Brownell and Brian Thorn led a 10-day trip to Haiti. Along for the ride were graduate students Shwe Sin Win, Kim Hunt, Ricki Pavia and Darinee Narimarnkarm. In Haiti, the students worked on a project for Meds & Food for Kids.
Read More: RIT Grad Students lend a Sustainable Hand in Haiti
_______________
The Center for Science, Technology, and Society Presents:
GSBI™ Social Entrepreneur Insights
Meds & Food For Kids: Peanut Butter for Haiti's Starving Children
The Center for Science, Technology, and Society, by: the Global Social Benefit Incubator
August 21, 2012
Tom Stehl, Deputy Director of Meds & Food for Kids discuss the social enterprize model used by MFK and his experience with the Global Social Benefit Incubator at Santa Clara University.
Check out the Video: GSBI Social Entrepreneur Insights - Meds & Food for Kids
_______________
Meds & Food for Kids: Giving Library
Giving Library
August 1, 2012
"The Giving Library offers philanthropists an innovative way to enhance their strategic charitable giving. Donors can explore our online archive of video interviews to locate, study, compare and engage with hundreds of nonprofit organizations across the country." Meds & Food for Kids is featured on the Giving Library, so you can hear straight from Director Dr. Patricia Wolff just how we got our start
Read More: The Giving Library
_______________
"The only sustainable way to improve poverty is to educate and employ": 8 Questions for Patricia Wolff
Global Envision, by: Margo Conner
July 5, 2012
Global Envision writer Margo Conner caught up with Wolff by email to talk about the PlumpyField Network for similar manufacturers around the world, the meaning of "social enterprise," and the future of market-based antipoverty work in Haiti.
Read More: Global Envision: 8 Questions for Patricia Wolff
Rick Wallace Interviews Dr. Patricia Wollf
106.5 The Arch
June 28, 2012
Join Rick Wallace and his guest on Talk of the Town-Dr. Pat Wolff-Founder and Executive Director of Meds & Food for Kids. They are dedicated to saving the lives of Haiti's malnourished children. Their fascinating work is changing the lives of thousands of Haitians.
Listen Here: Dr. Pat Wolff on Talk of the Town
(There appear to be some issues playing it on Firefox; however, it works consistently on Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, and Safari.)
Mighty peanut: Local organization gains partner in battle against malnutrition in Haiti
St. Louis Beacon, by: Josie Butler
June 13, 2012
This spring, MFK entered into a long-term agreement with UNICEF that paves the way for its Medika Mamba to be distributed to 20,000 Haitian children. This Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food -- which is made of ground roasted peanuts, powdered milk, cooking oil, sugar, vitamins and minerals -- reverses malnourishment in children within 6-8 weeks.
Marianne Frapwell from MFK said the agreement is a huge step in having customers recognize the organization as a local and global producer. Meds and Food for Kids had to go through a rigorous food safety audit conducted by Doctors without Borders. She said MFK is the only food producer in Haiti to be accredited.
Read More: Mighty peanut: Local organization gains partner in battle against malnutrition in Haiti
Dr. Wolff Receives Honorary Degrees from UMSL and Fontbonne University
May 2012, video by: Alicia Hottle-Sippy
Dr. Patricia Wolff, Executive Director of Meds & Food for Kids, delivered the Commencement addresses at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Fontbonne University and received honorary degrees from both institutions in recognition of her achievements.
Watch Dr. Wolff's UMSL Commencement Address below:
Meds & Food for Kids to sell peanut-based food to UNICEF
St. Louis Business Journal, by: Greta Weiderman
April 23, 2012
The international aid organization UNICEF has entered into a long-term agreement to purchase 471,569 pounds of a peanut-based, ready-to-use therapeutic food from St. Louis-based Meds & Food for Kids, the St. Louis nonprofit announced today. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Meds & Food for Kids produces the food, called Plumpy’nut/Medika Mamba, at factories in Haiti, and UNICEF will distribute the food to severely malnourished children for free all over the country for the remainder of this year. This agreement will provide enough Plumpy’nut/Medika Mamba to save the lives of 20,000 children, officials said.
Read More: Meds & Food for Kids to sell peanut-based food to UNICEF
Malnourished children in Haiti
Rock Hopper TV
November 19, 2011
Taken over six weeks, the course helps children to gain 4 grammes per kilogramme of weight per day.
MFK employees grow, roast and grind the peanuts locally and is hoping to grow enough peanuts in the future to be able to export them to other countries in need.
Watch here:
Helping Haiti's Hungry
CNN
August 18, 2011
Gary Strieker reports on Meds & Food for Kids and the fight against malnutrition in Haiti's youngest citizens.
The Miracle of Medika Mamba: Dr. Patricia Wolff uses peanut butter to save thousands of Haitian toddlers from brain damage and death
St. Louis Magazine: Best Doctors 2011, by: Jeannette Copperman
August 2011
Medika Mamba, by contrast, is powerfully nutritious and easily digested. "Because Medika Mamba is ready to eat, doesn't grow bacteria, and doesn't need refrigeration, the family doesn't need to use up precious charcoal, and the child can eat eight times a day," Wolff says. "Everybody else in Haiti eats once a day because they only build a fire once."
And will a child eat Medika Mamba eight times a day? "Oh yeah-they love it!" Wolff says, her face breaking into a smile. "It tastes like the inside of a Reese's!"
Read More: Dr.Wolff and the Miracle of Medika Mamba
Urban Land Institute Gift Helps U.S. Nonprofit Boost Food Production in Haiti
Urban Land Institute, by: Patrick L. Phillips Chief Executive Officer, Urban Land Institute
July 13, 2011
In January 2010, in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in Haiti, I called upon ULI members to give generously to first responders such as the Red Cross, World Vision, International Relief and Development, the various United Nations aid agencies, and the many other NGOs providing immediate relief.
Since then, we’ve continued to look for ways ULI can support the longer-term needs of Haiti. To that end, the ULI Foundation recently made a generous donation to Meds and Food for Kids, a US-based non-profit established in 2003 with the mission to prevent and treat malnutrition in Haiti through the local production and distribution of a nutritious food for children.
Read More: Generous donation to Meds and Food for Kids
Meds & Food seeks $600,000 for Haitian factory
St. Louis Buisness Journal
April 28, 2011
Meds & Food for Kids a St. Louis-based nonprofit that produces and distributes foods to malnourished children in Haiti, said it needs to raise $600,000 in the next six months in order to build a much-needed new factory there this year. The planned new, larger factory would be more efficient and enable production to be increased tenfold, to treat 80,000 children annually, Meds & Food for Kids officials said.
Below is a rendering provided by Burns & McDonnell of the factory.
Read more: Meds & Food seeks $600,000 for Haitian factory
An Enduring Commitment to Haiti
University of Minnesota Almuni Spotlight
April 25, 2011
While short-term relief has its place, Patricia Wolff, M.D., is partial to the permanent fix. Wolff, a pediatrician, 1972 Medical School alumna, and founder of the nonprofit Meds & Food for Kids, is focused on combating malnutrition in Haiti — starting with its root causes.
Read more: An enduring commitment to Haiti
Dr. Patricia Wolff closing practice to focus on her other passion
www.ksdk.com
March 25, 2011
A local pediatrician is closing her practice to focus full-time on her other passion -- Haiti. Dr. Patricia Wolff is telling her long time patients that she only has six more days in her St. Louis office. For the past eight years she has split time between her practice and a foundation she started in Northern Haiti. Meds and Food for Kids uses the peanuts and labor of locals to make a highly enriched peanut butter for malnourished children.
Read more and Watch: Dr. Patricia Wolff closing practice to focus on her other passion
Dr. Pat Wolff to Leave St. Louis Practice to Concentrate on Haiti, Peanut Butter
Riverfront Times, by: Aimee Levitt
March 25, 2011
It's been a mystery to many how Dr. Patricia Wolff manages to balance running Meds & Food for Kids (MFK), an organization that produces and distributes nutrient-laden peanut butter to malnourished children in Haiti, with her own private pediatrics practice here in St. Louis. On June 30, though, Wolff's juggling exhibition will come to an end. Wolff will be folding up her practice at Forest Park Pediatrics and devoting herself to MFK full-time.
Read More: Dr. Pat Wolff to Leave St. Louis Practice to Concentrate on Haiti, Peanut Butter
Dr. Patricia Wolff leaving private practice to donate time to Haiti project
STLTODAY.COM, by: Deb Peterson
March 23, 2011
Dr.Patricia Wolff, a St. Louis pediatrician and founder of Meds & Foods for Kids, will be leaving her private practice to devote her time to the effort to provide food for malnourished children in Haiti. Wolff is telling her patients at Forest Park Pediatrics that she is leaving the practice on June 30. She founded the nonprofit in 2003 and has split her time between her practice and the organization since then. She began volunteering in Haiti in 1988.
Read More: NOT JUST PEANUTS
Band sealer expands lifeline for Haitian kids
Published in Packaging World Magazine, by: Anne Marie Mohan
February 2011, p. 34
Since 2003, packaging has been an integral component of a program developed in Haiti by Dr. Patricia Wolff, professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Washington University's School of Medicine, to combat childhood malnutrition. Meds & Food for Kids (MFK), a registered U.S. nonprofit and a registered NGO in Haiti, develops, produces, and distributes a shelf-stable Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) in standup pouches that offer superior barrier properties and convenience.
Read More: Band sealer expands lifeline for Haitian kids
The Global Voice With Susan Piontek
January 26, 2011
This week on "The Global Voice" Susan Piontek will be speaking live with Tom Stehl, who has just returned from Haiti, and Steve Taviner, Director of Development, who spent 14 months in Haiti. They will be updating us on all the wonderful work they are doing alongside "Meds and Food for Kids" founder Dr. Patricia Wolff.
Listen Here: The Global Voice
Haiti, one year later: St. Louis-based groups are growing, helping more (Part 2)
St. Louis Beacon, by: Patricia Rice
January 12, 2011
The poorest nation in the Western hemisphere must not continue as a charity case, St. Louis volunteers said. Most Haitians don’t want to stand in line for help but to learn, work and help themselves, the volunteers say. After two decades of helping in Haiti, St. Louis pediatrician and Washington University medical professor Dr. Patricia Wolff sees new hope, even though the earthquake stalled her food production expansion plans.
Read More: Hati, One Year Later
Local Product Global Cause
The Providence Phoenix
October 6, 2010
The Phoenix Providence describes Edesia's effort to produce and distribute Plumpy'nut globally to end malnutrition and stimulate local development. Steve Taviner, Meds & Food for Kids Development Director, is featured in the article about his take on malnutrition, funding and the miracle of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food.
"It saves hundreds and hundreds of lives every day," says Taviner. "You hear parents say all the time after they've used it, 'I thought my child was dead and now he's alive.' "
Read More: Providence - based Edesia wants to end world hunger. But are we willing to pay for it?
Charlie Brennan Interviews Dr. Patricia Wollf
KMOX.COM
October 1, 2010
Charlie talks with Dr. Patricia Wolff, St. Louis pediatrician and founder of the non-profit, Meds and Food for Kids, providing health care and nutrition to the children of Haiti. Listen to Dr. Patricia Wolff's interview with Charlie Brennan from KMOX on Meds & Food For Kids work in Haiti.
Listen Here: MFK Provides Health Care and Nutrition to Children in Haiti
Wolff's Battle In The Business For Hunger
St. Louis Business Journal, by: Trish Miller
September 7, 2010
St. Louis pediatrician Patricia Wolff's struggle to keep her Meds & Food for Kids nonprofit going was mentioned in a New York Times magazine piece Sunday on world hunger. Meds & Food for Kids makes fortified nut paste to help feed starving children in Haiti. Wolff told Times Reporter Andrew Rice that her nonprofit faces steep competition from Nutriset, a private, for-profit French company that makes its own paste called Plumpy’nut, according to Rice’s story, “The Peanut Solution.”
Read more: Wolff's battle in the business for hunger | St. Louis Business Journal
The Peanut Solution
New York Times Magazine, by: Andrew Rice
September 2, 2010
Peanut Butter Miracle
Webster-Kirkwood Times Online, by: Fran Mannino
August 27, 2010
Peanut butter - that everyday staple of children's lunches - is remarkably similar to a product playing a major role in the ongoing battle against global malnutrition. Documenting its use in Haiti are filmmakers Frank Popper of Webster Groves and Lori Dowd, vice president of program development at Avatar Studios in St. Louis. The peanut butter product at the center of the film is known in Haiti as "Medika Mamba" or "peanut butter medicine." It is being produced and distributed in Haiti through the non-profit Meds & Food for Kids (MFK) organization.
Read more: Meds & Food For Kids will be featured in Haiti Documentary
Progress Comes Slowly in Haiti-Part 1
St. Louis Beacon, by: Patricia Rice
July 22, 2010
The tragedy in Haiti has steeled the determination of several seasoned St. Louis volunteers to educate, mentor and help more Haitians become self-sustaining. Haitians must serve their own people and run their own hospitals, schools and society, they said in interviews this week. Meds & Foods for Kids, a Haitian hyper-nutritious food factory in Cap Haitien, founded by St. Louisan Dr. Patricia Wolff in 2004, will build a new factory and close its existing one.
Read More: How MFK plans to demonstrate that we don't need to rescue Haiti forever
Haitian Orphans Have Little but One Another
The New York Times, by: Deborah Sontag
July 5, 2010
Deborah Sontag mentions Medika Mamba in her article on Frades, an organization specializing in microloans that has taken responsibility for orphaned/abandoned children after the earthquake. Readers of an earlier NYT article about the orphans generated donations of cash and medika mamba to supply the children with basic needs.
Read More: Medika Mamba's post-earthquake uses
Dr. Peanut: A St. Louis Pediatrician Battles Child Malnutrition in Haiti
Riverfront Times, by: Aimee Levitt
July 1, 2010
A small room off to the side is bare except for an examination table, a makeshift desk piled with folders and bottles of medicine, and two narrow wooden benches pushed up against the walls. A tall Haitian nurse wearing a white dress and a cap and stockings, straight out of the 1950s, confers with a smaller, wiry American woman over a pair of height-and-weight charts.The Haitian is Marie Fleurese Gourges, head nurse of Justinien's infant malnutrition clinic. The American is Dr. Patricia Wolff, a St. Louis pediatrician. Wolff is 62 years old. She has large blue eyes, short blonde hair, a pointed chin — and a commanding presence. As her friend Mary McElwain puts it: "Pat is a person who feels people should listen to her."
Read More: Dr. Peanut
