Malnutrition is responsible for over half of all childhood deaths in Ethiopia. In 1990, one in every five Ethiopian children died because they didn’t receive the basic nutrition needed to survive. By raising awareness and funds for childhood malnutrition, Food for Thought has collected over $11,000, enough to save the lives of over 700 children in Ethiopia from starvation! Food for Thought’s major event is the Run/Walk for Plumpy’nut. Plumpy’nut is a peanut butter based therapeutic food that is revolutionary in the fight against hunger. Peanut paste, vegetable oil, powdered milk and essential vitamins and minerals are packed in a foil packet to provide severely malnourished children with a high protein and high energy packed therapeutic food. Powdered milk formulas were previously used as the standard malnutrition aid, but the formulas were nowhere near as pragmatic as Plumpy’nut. Unlike powdered milk, Plumpy’nut doesn’t need to be mixed with clean water, a precious commodity in Africa, or be kept chilled. Although the two are equal in cost, Plumpy’nut requires no special preparation and is much easier to distribute. In the past, mothers would have to travel for hundreds of miles, leaving their families and children alone for days at home, while they cared for their starving child at a therapeutic feeding station. Now, parents can simply rip open the foil Plumpy’nut packet and feed it to their children at home. By raising money for Plumpy’nut, Food for Thought is supporting a practical and effective tool to reverse malnutrition of hundreds of children.

Through the work of Food for Thought, people of every age have been inspired to not only take an interest in humanitarian issues, but empowered to actually do something about them. Thanks to Plumpy’nut, we have the ability to end childhood malnutrition. Not only is Plumpy’nut cost effective, but it has a proven success rate. Over 50,000 children have already benefited from this therapeutic food. Ethiopia’s percentages of recovery rate for severely underweight children have climbed up to 95%! We have the tools and resources to fight malnutrition and Food for Thought is mobilizing people of all ages to take action against childhood hunger. Because Food for Thought events are organized and hosted by a student-founded nonprofit organization, we empower our peers to witness the impact that they themselves, the youth, can have on enacting change.

Due to the outstanding community support and interest generated by the first Walk for Plumpy’nut, Food for Thought was created. Food for Thought is a student founded non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children around the world through the reduction of childhood malnutrition. Through the Walk for Plumpy’nut, Food for Thought has already saved over 700 children in Ethiopia. In addition to the Walk for Plumpy’nut, Food for Thought has also generated awareness for the global food crisis through a Global Concerns Student Workshop focused on hunger. At the workshop, high school students gathered to think practically and critically about the challenges involved in eliminating global hunger. This workshop provided students with an exciting opportunity to discuss and debate complex issues, examine the impact of the global food crisis and explore viable solutions. It inspired students to become active global citizens and connected them to the international community, empowering them to take action for global causes. Through the many events and campaigns organized by Food for Thought, we will continue to motivate young people to create social change, attempting to ensure that our generation leaves the world a little better than we found it.

As the founding members of Food for Thought are now graduating high school, we now look toward the sustainability of our organization. Chapter starter kits are beginning to be distributed to colleges and high schools across the country in an effort to establish a network of Food for Thought chapters. These kits have all the tools necessary to create a Food for Thought chapter at your campus or high school and are complete with a step-by-step guide, sample posters and donation requests letters, ideas for events and helpful hints. Please let us know if you are interested and we will send a chapter kit your way immediately! If you are interested in joining us in our mission to improve the lives of children around the world, contact us at food_for_thought@ymail.com. Ideas, comments, suggestions and donations are always more than welcome. We would love to speak with you and hope to work with you! Send us an e-mail at food_for_thought@ymail.com Leave us a comment at www.myspace.com/walkforplumpynut