Doing What Works: Capacity Crowd Hears Message of Urgency, Hope and Success in Saving Children’s Lives and Transforming Their Futures
“Meds & Food for Kids defines sustainable resilience and systems change. Every dollar delivered not only saves lives – but changes systems – and transforms the lives of children in Haiti and children everywhere. We have the tools and we know what works,” Ambassador Ertharin Cousin said at the third annual Zero Hunger: Doing What Works forum presented by MFK.
Hearing that message, a capacity crowd of over 200 international leaders, St. Louis innovators and passionate allies in the fight against world hunger rose to their feet with applause. Supporters gathered in record numbers to learn about solutions that work to build sustainable food systems locally and globally. Motivated by urgency, the audience was equally inspired by hope and spurred to action by the proof of success that MFK delivers to the children of Haiti and offers to the world.
Despite the challenges in Haiti, Meds & Food for Kids’ locally driven approach has treated more than one million malnourished children, trained thousands of Haitian farmers, and built a model for sustainable food systems that empower communities to thrive.
Chris Greene, chief executive officer of MFK, opened and closed the event by underscoring the solution that MFK delivers. “Locally led solutions that work offer hope by changing systems – not just to save more lives today, but to ensure that we have a better tomorrow.”
The keynote speaker, Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, is a globally recognized champion for food security. She served as executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Agencies for Food and Agriculture. She now leads the Food Systems for the Future Institute as managing director and CEO, advancing equitable access to affordable, nutritious food. She brought the depth of her extraordinary insight to her presentation Exploring the Future of Aid: Local Leadership, Public-Private Collaboration, and Sustainable Change.
“Solutions like Meds & Food for Kids bridge the gap from relief to resilience,” said Ambassador Cousin. “Haiti is a case study of what works, because the work you are performing is a proof point of a model that applies everywhere. The future will be built on the power of local leadership, integrated value chain, public-private collaboration, adequate investment, and a relentless focus on the first thousand days of a child’s life to bend the curve of stunting and maternal mortality.”
Recognizing Pioneering Vision and Lifelong Commitment
A highlight of the evening was recognition of MFK founder Patricia B. Wolff, M.D., who recently received the 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneer Award from the World Food Prize Foundation. A St. Louis pediatrician, Dr. Wolff founded MFK in 2003 to address the suffering and deaths of children from severe, acute malnutrition that she witnessed during her medical mission trips to Haiti.
In turn, Dr. Wolff recognized and expressed gratitude to the more than 130 members of the MFK Founder’s Circle. These are people who have provided significant financial support since MFK’s early years. Many have shared their scientific, business and engineering expertise to fuel MFK’s ability to achieve its mission.
