BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands –Major soy-food companies have committed to donating to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake that occurred in January. These include: Vitasoy USA Inc., an American soymilk company; WhiteWave Foods, the producer of the U.S. soymilk brand “Silk;” Alpro NV, a European soy food company; and Solae LLC, a soy-based ingredients company.
Alpro and Solae committed financial support for the effort, while considering further options, while Vitasoy and WhiteWave donated aseptic beverages. These first soy food donations are being made via “Feed the Children,” a U.S.-based NGO with a branch also in Canada. Its mission is to provide food to people in need, in many countries. They also have the capability to collect and warehouse food donations and are working with a variety of recipient organizations in Haiti.
With the ad-hoc international group dubbed ‘SHARE’ for Soyfoods Haiti Alliance Relief Effort, work is underway to solicit more donations as well as to facilitate logistics and distribution. In this regard, NGOs, such as Feed the Children, have emerged as partners to receive and distribute the soy food donations. Contact with World Food Program has also revealed its request for cooking oil and ready-to-eat foods. Eventually, and on a longer-term basis, donations could include soybeans, soy protein ingredients and micro-nutrient supplements for value-added processing in Haiti.
Alliance partners, Malnutrition Matters in North America and Bridge2Food in Europe, are working to solicit and expedite soy food donations. The U.S.-based World Soy Foundation is accepting financial donations and can issue U.S. tax receipts.