New Factory in Rhode Island Fights Malnutrition Worldwide
When Navyn Salem decided to hire refugees to staff her new factory in Providence, Rhode Island, she wasn't just doing a good deed. Her nonprofit, Edesia, is producing Plumpy'nut and other highly fortified food products aimed at malnourished people in the developing world. The refugees – one survived the Rwandan genocide, another lived in a refugee camp for 20 years – have a far more intimate understanding of hunger than most other people she could have hired. "No one knows better than they do how important it is for these products to be ready on time, with the highest quality standards," says Salem, who committed to open the factory at CGI's 2009 Annual Meeting.
Edesia is the first U.S. organization producing Plumpy'nut and other ready-to-use foods (Supplementary'Plumpy, Plumpy'doz and Nutributter), which are widely recognized as a breakthrough in the treatment of malnutrition. Shortly after the factory opened in February, Salem announced a grant with USAID for the production of Nutributter, which means this type of highly nutritious food is now available as part of U.S. food aid for the first time. Those are not the only reasons why Edesia is unusual; the organization is also one of the few nonprofit providers of food aid in the United States.
CGI spoke with Salem about the challenges and rewards of opening Edesia's Rhode Island factory.
Why are Plumpy products considered such a breakthrough in the treatment of malnutrition?
For the first time history, there are over a billion malnourished people on our planet. Plumpy products are cost-effective and can make an immediate impact for thousands at risk. They are essentially peanut pastes mixed with milk powder, sugar, vegetable oil, vitamins and minerals. It is a home-based treatment that can transform a child in just weeks with a success rate of over 90 percent. They are revolutionary because they do not need to be mixed with water or refrigerated, which makes them easy to distribute and use in hard-to-reach areas, in regions with polluted water supplies, and in emergency situations.
Also, we really want to advocate for linking nutrition and food aid, because in the past that connection hasn't been emphasized. We know that micronutrients are vital for fragile young bodies to grow and reach their full potential. For children under two, for example, nutrients are linked to early brain development. If you miss that window of opportunity for a child, you miss it for their whole life. We want to intervene at this critical stage of life to give children a real chance to thrive.
Under U.S. law, the vast majority of food aid distributed overseas must originate in the U.S., and typically that means it's a corn and soy blend. For the majority of recipients, that may be sufficient. But for the vulnerable members of the population -- children under 5, adults with HIV, pregnant and lactating women – corn and soy don't have enough nutrients to be impactful. The U.S. is the biggest player in food aid, and by locating here, we can ensure that these highly nutritious Plumpy products can be distributed through U.S. government grants and contracts.
Edesia's sister organization, Industrial Revelation, contracts with a for-profit company to produce Plumpy'nut in Tanzania. Why did you decide to structure Edesia as a nonprofit instead?
As a nonprofit, your price can be lower because you're not a profit-seeking organization. We measure our bottom line in terms of how many people we can serve. I think it's important in the U.S. for us to keep this focus. In developing countries, however, growing strong local businesses is often just as important to serving the community as the nutrition products themselves. In a country like Tanzania, we need to ensure that Plumpy'nut production is sustainable, and if that means it has to be structured as a for-profit, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
What were some of the challenges you faced opening this factory?
We opened on time, but like any start-up, we had many unexpected complications – containers stuck at ports, damaged equipment, delayed power upgrades, etc. We had to merge equipment from a few different countries and it took some time to make it all work together. Everything was a process. It even took 18 months to get our nonprofit 501(c)(3) status. We just had to get up every morning and be ready to keep up the fight.
Our next biggest challenge is sales and marketing. We still have available capacity, so we are trying to reach out to an array of NGOs to let them know that we're here as a supplier with a wide range of ready-to-use foods. We're happy to work with organizations to find solutions that work for them to fill their needs.
You have hired several refugees to staff the factory. How did you find them?
We worked with an organization called the International Institute of Rhode Island (IIRI) – a refugee resettlement organization that has been around for more than 90 years. Their job is to welcome new refugees into the country and work with them to get an apartment, figure out how to get their kids in school, and help them get jobs. We contacted them to let them know we had job openings and so they worked with the refugees on their applications, practiced their interview skills, prescreened them, and sent the candidates over to us.
Can you tell us about the refugees?
We hired six so far for our first shift, and we are doing interviews next week for our second shift. We've called IIRI back again to ask for a second round because the initial hires we started with have been fantastic. We really like the connection we can make – they've been fortunate to come to the U.S., but they're able to do something that keeps them connected to where they came from. Some of them were born in refugee camps, some lived there for five or 20 years. They had homes and jobs before conflict or civil war sent them in a different direction.
They are the nicest, most hardworking, dedicated, happy employees that you could ever ask for. Hearing their stories, you can't imagine how they can get up every morning and be so positive. Some still aren't ready to share too much about their experiences while others are very willing to talk and even do school group presentations. They all speak at least three languages. I feel lucky to work with them.
