World Soy Foundation At Work
June 2009
Welcome to the first issue of "World Soy Foundation At Work." Thanks to our many supporters, the World Soy Foundation is nourishing people in developing countries around the globe.
Children's Diets Improve with Soy in Ghana
The World Soy Foundation is helping ADRA Ghana place a VitaGoat, soyfoods processing machine, in a rural community that will start feeding children with locally grown soybeans in September 2009. The project will provide soymilk to 450 students each day they attend school.The World Soy Foundation and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) signed a memorandum of understanding that will provide soy-based nutrition to school children in Ghana and build on a successful 2007 school feeding program.
The World Soy Foundation is helping ADRA Ghana place a VitaGoat soyfoods processing machine in an agricultural training college where it will produce soyfoods with locally grown soybeans beginning in September 2009. The project will provide soymilk to 450 students each day they attend elementary school. ADRA will help organize nutrition and health training for teachers and students.
Silk® soy milk, a WhiteWave Foods brand, is the generous donor for the project and also supported successful school feeding program in Ghana in 2007. Cooks were trained in the use of all the different soy products to facilitate the use of the various products in local dishes. In the two rural schools, school enrollment increased by 33% and average school attendance by 20%.
South African Youth Cooperative Offers Soyfoods to Day Care Students and More
Children at 10 South African day care centers are enjoying soymilk thanks to a Monsanto-supported project with the World Soy Foundation. A youth cooperative created to produce and sell soy milk in the Orange Farm Township in Johannesburg, South Africa is making soyfoods available to approximately 500 children thanks to Monsanto Fund support. The World Soy Foundation provided a SoyCow food processing system, product installation and training to two Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs): Joint Aid Management (JAM) and INMED Partnerships for Children. JAM worked with the local township government to identify 10 dynamic young adults and a location to set up the SoyCow micro-enterprise.
The machine was installed, the people were trained and the products launched in early January. Part of the agreement in the creation of this small enterprise, named "To Taste" in the Zulu language, was that the cooperative would give soy milk to 10 daycare centers in the area. The agreement requires the cooperative to donate more than 10,000 liters of soy milk to the community a year. In addition, they are already able to ensure the program's sustainability by selling soymilk, okara chips and soy nuts. Their marketing plan includes more outside sales in high traffic areas and eventually door-to-door sales.
With a successful startup model now completed, the World Soy Foundation is seeking new funding to "grow the herd" in South Africa.
Soybean Farmers Raise Funds Through the Acre Challenge
U.S. soybean farmers and now the first international farmer donor, from Brazil, have committed to nourish children in developing countries by donating to the World Soy Foundation’s Acre Challenge.
U.S. soybean farmer-led organizations have provided thousands of dollars and leadership in the creation and ongoing support of the World Soy Foundation.
Yet, many farmers wanted a personal opportunity to support the program. Their answer was the World Soy Foundation Acre Challenge.
By spring 2009, more than 120 U.S. soybean farmersfrom 18 States and Brazil had committed the value of an acre of their crop to the Acre Challenge. To contribute to the Acre Challenge go to www.worldsoyfoundation.org
