The Hershey Company announced it will fund the construction of a Project Peanut Butter factory in Ghana to produce peanut-based Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTFs) for malnourished children in Ghana. Project Peanut Butter will distribute the RUTFs to relief agencies who provide the vitamin-enriched nutritional packets at no cost to the families.
Childhood malnutrition levels in sub-Sahara Africa, an area that includes Ghana, are the highest in the world. Through Project Peanut Butter, children in rural Ghana will receive nutrients to increase their strength, foster growth and reduce their vulnerability to diseases.
“Accelerating the production and distribution of nutrient-rich food is critical to improving the lives of at-risk rural children," said Dr. Mark Manary, founder of Project Peanut Butter, a pediatrician and a professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. “I am thrilled to partner with Hershey to bring this life-saving program to the rural villages of Ghana, where poverty causes malnourishment among children."
More than a decade ago, Manary helped develop RUTFs, which are peanut-based, vitamin-enriched nutritional packets that have resulted in 95% of children recovering from malnourishment compared to 25% to 40% from traditional hospital therapies. Project Peanut Butter is now operating in Malawi, Sierra Leone and Mali.
Ghana is one of the Top 10 peanut producing countries in the world and has a robust and growing peanut farming industry. Project Peanut Butter’s local partners will source all peanuts within Ghana, providing thousands of small-holder Ghanaian peanut farmers with a new market for their crops. Hershey will assist the Project Peanut Butter team through the company’s expertise in sourcing and processing peanuts. The Project Peanut Butter program in Ghana will work to improve the peanut farming sector by providing farmers with access to higher quality inputs and better planting and harvest techniques.
“Because of our experience in peanut processing and our commitment to improving communities in West Africa, Project Peanut Butter is an exciting project for us," said Michele Buck, Hershey’s Senior Vice President, Chief Growth Officer. “We are honored to be working with Dr. Manary and his dedicated team in reducing childhood malnutrition."
