Did you know that 17% of children under the age of 5 living in the “dry corridor” of Nicaragua suffer from chronic malnutrition? The lack of proper nutrition, caused by living in severe poverty has become the number one reason for school dropout and underdevelopment for children.  Through Fabretto key partner Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), Fabretto has been able to bring healthy meals to children suffering from undernourishment in rural Nicaragua.

For many children, the meals provided at Fabretto’s Education Centers is their only meal of the day.  For others, the lack of a balanced diet or proper quantities stunts growth and affects school performance. That is why FMSC, along with Fabretto, created the  Joined Hands Project to help bring balanced nutrition to the table. FMSC donates packages of soy to Fabretto as part of the first step to create the balanced meals.  Once in Nicaragua, FMSC seeks locally sourced rice to complete the meals. By essentially eliminating the middle-man and purchasing the rice directly for the local farmers, FMSC contributes to the sustainability of the farmers and helps battle poverty.

As of July 2017, Fabretto is hosting mobile packing events weekly to complete the meals by packing the rice, one of the Manna Pack components. To this day,  over 2,000 volunteers have participated in the packing sessions, from local volunteers to students,  to the employees of large organizations such as Cargill, Ficohsa Financial Group, Tip Top, and International Samaritans, to name a few. Volunteers have packed over 1 million school meals to date, providing more than 3,300 students with school meals for a whole year.

On this International School Meals day, we honor our partner, FMSC, for its relentless commitment to providing a nutritious solution for those who need it most. From supporting sustainability and fighting poverty, to providing food security to the most needed, thank you for joining hands with Fabretto.