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.

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. 

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Meds & Foods for Kids Forum Spotlights St. Louis’ Leadership in Fight Against World Hunger on September 18th

ST. LOUIS (AUGUST 26, 2025) – International leaders in the fight against world hunger will gather in St. Louis on September 18 to amplify solutions for building a sustainable food system. Meds & Food for Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood malnutrition in Haiti with its U.S. bureau in St. Louis, will host Zero Hunger: Doing What Works with keynote speaker Ambassador Ertharin Cousin. Now in its third year, Zero Hunger highlights the role St. Louis plays in combating hunger and malnutrition worldwide. The event is on Thursday, September 18, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at The Courses at Forest Park,6141 Lagoon Dr, St. Louis. Tickets are available at mfkhaiti.org.

Meds & Food for Kids (MFK) produces and delivers lifesaving therapeutic food and delivers it to starving children, even in Haiti’s most isolated communities. Missouri-based leaders in the fight against hunger will join passionate supporters of MFK for the evening of insight and inspiration.

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 for all.

Ambassador Cousin will speak on the topic of Exploring the Future of Aid: Local Leadership, Public-Private Collaboration, and Sustainable Change. She will discuss solutions for building a sustainable food system, including those that bridge the gap from relief to resilience as Meds & Food for Kids does. The Ambassador will also emphasize the value of investment and public-private partnerships to build the capacity of local communities and break the cycle of dependency.

Despite the challenges in Haiti, Meds & Food for Kids’ innovative, 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.

“Every child deserves the chance to grow up healthy and strong,” remarked Chris Greene, Chief Executive Officer of Meds & Food for Kids. “Zero Hunger 2025 spotlights how people and organizations in St. Louis lead the way in addressing the root causes of hunger and creating a future where every child is nourished. Ambassador Cousin will bring her extraordinary insight about the private sector’s unique and powerful role in bringing solutions to scale, mobilizing resources, and ensuring that investments reach where they are needed most.”

In 2003, Patricia Wolff, MD, a pediatrician and clinical professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, founded MFK to address the needless suffering and deaths of children from severe, acute malnutrition that she witnessed during her medical mission trips to Haiti. Over more than 20 years, the MFK team has developed an internationally recognized model of sustainable, locally led economic development that incorporates agricultural innovation, local manufacturing, and nutrition science.

Tickets are $71 per person, the amount needed to treat one child with severe acute malnutrition in Haiti. Proceeds support MFK’s lifesaving programs in Haiti.

Changemakers Forging a New Future for Food and Driving Impact Where It Matters Most

CAP-HAITIEN, HAITI – The World Food Prize Foundation has named Patricia B. Wolff, MD, founder of Meds & Food for Kids (MFK), to the 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneers (TAP). Dr. Wolff is the first and only physician to be recognized, and is among this year’s 39 visionary scientists, farmers, policy advisors, entrepreneurs, and humanitarians honored for driving bold and innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in global food security.

“The 2025 TAP list showcases the extraordinary diversity, talent, and resolve of individuals working across borders and disciplines to build a more sustainable and just global food system,” said Mashal Husain, president of the World Food Prize Foundation. “In a world facing urgent and interwoven crises, these honorees are fearless changemakers driving impact where it matters most—and offering real hope for the future.”

The 2025 cohort represents a network of changemakers intended to be expanded each year to facilitate greater co-learning and collaboration across food systems.

“Our entire team is grateful for this international recognition and excited about this opportunity to spark innovation and accelerate adoption of locally led solutions proven to save lives, build resilience, and strengthen the local economy – even in the toughest conditions,” said Dr. Wolff.

In a country facing chronic malnutrition and instability, the MFK team has developed an internationally recognized model of sustainable, locally led development that incorporates agricultural innovation, local manufacturing, and nutrition science.

“This well-deserved recognition of Dr. Wolff’s early vision and lifelong work comes at a time when the international development community is searching for innovations that can deliver practical, achievable results,” said Chris Greene, MFK’s chief executive officer. “Effective local solutions like MFK are the most direct way to save children and the best path forward for global food security.”

Dr. Wolff founded MFK in 2003 to address the needless suffering and the deaths of children from malnutrition that she witnessed in Haiti. As a pediatrician and then-associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Dr. Wolff was committed to building a transformative agricultural-nutritional model that saves lives today while building sustainable food systems for tomorrow.

Dr. Wolff’s innovative model uses peanuts grown by Haitian smallholder farmers, creating a sustainable supply chain while transforming the agricultural economy. Over 22 years, MFK has treated more than one million children and pregnant mothers, and trained 3,800 farmers, while achieving international food safety standards.

Meds & Food for Kids’ factory in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, recently welcomed multiple international delegations of development experts, including Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Programme. They toured MFK’s modern, solar-powered RUTF manufacturing facility and met with MFK’s agronomists, clinical outreach teams, and logistics managers to explore how a local development model has been proven to work for more than two decades in one of the most chaotic environments in the world.

Reflections from Dr. Pat Wolff, Meds & Food for Kids Founder

As we celebrate MFK treating 1 million children & mothers, I would like to acknowledge a group who made a huge difference along the way: the 46 expat fellows who worked with MFK for 1-3 years each from 2009 to 2020. Recent college graduates in North America and Europe shared what they learned about topics like food safety, agriculture, nursing, public health, and engineering. Except for agriculture and nursing, all of these areas of study were unavailable to the local Haitian people, even to those with higher education.

A Bright Future in Haiti

In March of 2020, at the direction of the President of Haiti, the fellows were suddenly asked to leave the country because of the pandemic. The Haitian employees stepped up immediately. They soon realized that they had enough information and skills through their work with fellows over the years to perform all needed tasks. The Haitians filled all of MFK’s Haiti jobs, very confidently and professionally.  MFK had always been working toward this goal but we did not imagine it would be accomplished so abruptly and so early.

Since the beginning, MFK has proudly promoted the achievements of Haitians. Today, I would like to also say how proud I am of the 46 expat fellows for their generosity, persistence and ability to choose hardship for the greater good of Haiti and Haitians.  I give thanks for all of you and am proud to know each of you.

Dr. Pat Wolff