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.

St. Louis High School Students Meet World Food Prize Laureate

Meds & Food for Kids Convenes Experts and Community to Address Hunger Crisis

April 26, 2024
Contact: Maggie Probert, Meds & Food for Kids, 314-630-2119

ST. LOUIS APRIL 26, 2024 – Students from Notre Dame High School in south St. Louis joined local, national, and international leaders to explore solutions to the hunger crisis that affects one in six Missouri children.1 Worldwide, a child dies every 10 seconds from malnutrition, which claims the lives more than 3 million children every year.2

Meds & Food for Kids presented the Second Annual Zero Hunger: Doing What Works forum, a public discussion to amplify proven strategies and innovative approaches aimed at achieving the United Nations’ goal of a world free of hunger by 2030.

“Domestic food insecurity, violent conflict and climate catastrophes are causing a tragic setback to the UN’s goal of a hunger-free world,” said Chris Greene, CEO of Meds & Food for Kids.  “It’s an important time to highlight how people and organizations in the St. Louis region are making a difference on a global scale.” [See below Why St. Louis Matters in this Fight]

ST. LOUIS STUDENTS ENGAGE WITH EXPERTS

Recognizing this as a social justice issue affecting their generation’s future here and around the world, St. Louis students and their teachers had the opportunity share their concerns and perspectives with World Food Prize Laureate Catherine Bertini, who has been recognized for leadership of the World Food Programme and “Feed the Future,” as well as many initiatives to improve the lives of children and advocate for women and girls. Bertini was appointed to senior positions by three UN secretaries general and five US presidents. She is Founder of the Trust Fund for Girls’ Education and Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation Food Initiative.

Keynote speaker Bertini was joined by a panel of leading experts on the local, national and global issue of hunger, including:

• Lora Iannotti, PhD, is founding director of the E3 Nutrition Lab, working to identify economically affordable and environmentally sustainable nutrition solutions globally. She is also the first Director of Planetary Health and Environmental Justice at the new Center for the Environment at Washington University in St. Louis.
• Eric Mitchell is President of the Alliance to End Hunger. He leads and mobilizes a network of companies, nonprofit organizations, universities, foundations, and individuals to end hunger domestically and globally.
• Kristen Wild is President and CEO of Operation Food Search. She oversees the operations, programs and initiatives OFS sets forth in the mission of healing hunger and strengthening the St. Louis region.

WHY ST. LOUIS MATTERS IN THIS FIGHT

For many reasons St. Louis is considered to be at the center of world-wide efforts to solve the hunger crisis. The region is home to leaders in cutting-edge research in plant breeding, genomics, and sustainable agriculture practices and dozens of growing life sciences and biotech companies that are part of the innovation ecosystem. Others are focused on delivering these solutions where they are desperately needed.

It’s been more than 20 years since Plumpy’Nut – the life-saving, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) – was brought to international attention and distribution. Washington University pediatricians were instrumental in developing this product and establishing the agricultural and manufacturing techniques to Haiti. Considered the gold standard for saving starving children by the World Health Organization, RUTF saves children from starvation within weeks of receiving treatment.

RIGHT NOW – HERE IN ST. LOUIS –

• Meds and Food for Kids’ Established 20 years ago by St. Louis pediatrician Dr. Patricia Wolff, the organization supports production of Plumpy’Nut and other nutritional supplements manufactured by more than 90 Haitians – who work bravely in Cap-Haitien to meet the need in their country and 17 other countries around the world.

• Operation Food Search feeds over 200,000 people every month, distributing $30 million worth of food and necessities each year to 330 community partners in 40 Missouri and Illinois.

• E3 Nutrition Lab at Washington University in St. Louis’s Brown School is leading transdisciplinary research focused on maternal and young child nutrition in resource-poor settings to promote healthy growth and brain development.

• Alliance to End Hunger can directly impact the resources for children’s nutrition here in Missouri as well as around the world, through their work in Washington, DC to advocate for federal policies that address child hunger and malnutrition. 

For more information about Meds & Food for Kids, visit mfkhaiti.org

Meds & Food for Kids Presents
2nd Annual Zero Hunger: Doing What Works Forum

Experts Convene Forum on Proven & Innovative Solutions to End Hunger

April 25, 2025, | 11: am – 2: pm
Hilton St. Louis Frontenac

Who/What:

Meds & Food for Kids is convening a panel of leading experts on local, national, and global hunger aimed at achieving the United Nations’ goal of a world free of hunger by 2030.

The Event includes a Keynote Address, Panel discussion & public Q & A, to amplify proven strategies and innovative approaches.

When/Where:

• April 25, 2024 | 11:am – 2:pm | Hilton Frontenac | 1335 S Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63131

Keynote Speaker:

• Catherine Bertini is a World Food Prize Laureate and three-time UN Under-Secretary-General. She is the Founder of the Trust Fund for Girls’ Education and Managing Director of the Rockefeller Foundation Food Initiative.

Panelists:

• Lora Iannotti, PhD, is the founding director of the E3 Nutrition Lab, working to identify economically affordable and environmentally sustainable nutrition solutions globally. She is also the first Director of Planetary Health and
  Environmental Justice at the new Center for the Environment at Washington University in St. Louis.
• Eric Mitchell is President of the Alliance to End Hunger. He leads and mobilizes a network of companies, nonprofit organizations, universities, foundations, and individuals to end hunger domestically and globally.
• Kristen Wild is the President and CEO of Operation Food Search. She oversees the operations, programs, and initiatives t0 heal hunger and strengthen the St. Louis region.

Moderator:

• Chris Greene is CEO of Meds & Food for Kids. He works with the organization’s global stakeholders, partners and a team of 90 Haitians who produce lifesaving ready-to-use therapeutic food in Cap-Haitien, Haiti for the treatment of malnourished children and mothers in Haiti and 17 other countries.

Members of the media are invited to attend the forum at no charge. Tickets are available for purchase @ $50/person: Tickets and Sponsorships

For more information about Meds & Food for Kids, visit mfkhaiti.org

Schedule interviews with panelists via Maggie Probert| mprobert@mfkhaiti.org | 314.630.2119

Meds & Food for Kids welcomes a Security Force to restore peace throughout Haiti

October 3, 2023
Contact: Maggie Probert 314-630-2119

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.

Meds & Food for Kids applauds the United Nations’ decision to approve a security force to help Haiti restore order and peace throughout the country with the full expectation that this is for the benefit of Haitians both now and into the future.

For more than 20 years Haitians have managed the Meds & Food for Kids factory in Cap-Haitien manufacturing and distributing life-saving therapeutic treatments for severely malnourished children and women. The therapeutic foods have treated nearly 900,000 people in 18 countries, including Haiti.

Remenson Tenor, Director of Manufacturing and Factory Operations said, “The increased gang violence in Haiti over the last couple of years, has made me wonder if this is the country I grew up in. I don’t even recognize this country anymore. We need all the help possible to end the violence. A foreign intervention might be the solution, but it must be different from before. This time it must include civil society and benefit everyone. The people must be part of the solution,” Tenor remarked.

Chris Greene, Meds and Foods for Kids’ CEO, stated, “We look forward to seeing meaningful action that strengthens Haiti for all the people, both now and into the future.” Greene added that “Meds & Food for Kids looks forward to working with Kenya, other UN members and all parties to meet the urgent needs of the Haitian people so that children and families once again flourish in Haiti.”

“We know the resilience and determination of the Haitian people. Our Haitian team wants peace in their communities, and we stand with them,” Greene added. “We pledge to support efforts to restore peace to the Pearl of the Antilles.”