.png)
For more information contact:
Maggie Probert, Chief Advancement Officer
(314) 630-2119
mprobert@mfkhaiti.org
Dr. Patricia Wolff, founder of Meds & Food for Kids, has been chosen by the Boeing Institute of International Business at Saint Louis University as a recipient of the Global Service Leadership Award. The Award recognizes the exceptional global achievements of individuals who have been pioneers in expanding global business and in promoting international business and service.
As a pediatrician, Patricia B. Wolff, M. D., provided volunteer medical services for 15 years to Haitian children. She learned that “These children were sick because they were malnourished.”
In response, Dr. Wolff began self-producing a Ready-To-Use Therapeutic food that didn’t need refrigeration, was easily transported, and was simple to administer to infants and young children. Based on the profound impact on the children, Dr. Wolff rented “factory” space, hired local Haitians, and purchased locally grown peanuts from Haitian farmers. The “factory” moved from one location to another for 9 years until 2012 when the capital campaign was completed for the current 20,000 sq ft factory in Cap Haitien.
“Our plan was to treat malnutrition by addressing the root cause of poverty, the lack of jobs. The result is that we are saving lives and giving hope to entire communities,” said Dr. Wolff.
Today, that new factory employs 88 Haitians, works with more than 2,500 local farmers, and produces in excess of 300 metric tons of Ready-To-Use Therapeutic food that is helping to save lives in Haiti and 17 additional countries.
“Over the past 20 years the organization has saved the lives of almost 600,000 children and has helped provide meaningful livelihoods and skills-training for thousands of Haitians,” noted Dr. Wolff.
“It takes more than a village. I have been honored to be the orchestra conductor of this beautiful symphony of kindness and generosity,” Dr. Wolff stated. “It has been humbling to represent the work of Meds & Food for Kids.”
###
Founded in 2003, Meds & Food for Kids transforms the lives of malnourished children and mothers in Haiti and 17 other countries through the distribution and production of therapeutic foods. Since 2003 MFK has treated almost 600,000 malnourished children; trained more than 2,500 Haitian peanut farmers; and fed more than 121,300 anemic schoolchildren.
