News Releases
Red River Valley Soybean Donation Ships to Guatemala World Soy Foundation 'SoyCow' Project
September 2, 2007... Eight member companies of the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association saw 20.4 metric tons of their product leave for Guatemala today with the destination of helping thousands of hungry children. Company representatives and soybean organization leaders met today in Casselton, N. Dak. to load the 680 x 30KG bags of soybeans. The soybeans will travel more than 2300 miles to reach a World Soy Foundation project with the Guatemala City Metropoli Rotary Club.
Members of the Rotary Club, including a doctor, are eager to receive the soybeans for use in "SoyCows" that are being installed by the Rotary leaders. The donation has tremendous potential to help children in the Central American country. Chronic malnutrition affects 50 percent of Guatemalan children under 5 years of age, which is the highest level in Latin America and is increasing. "We applaud the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association for making it possible for locally grown soybeans to make a difference in the lives of thousands ofpeople for whom hunger is a part of their daily life," said North Dakota Soybean Council member Jared Hagert of Emerado.
"The World Soy Foundation deeply appreciates the rapid response that the Northern Food Grade Soybean Association showed when we identified this opportunity to do so much good in Guatemala," said World Soy Foundation board member Barb Overlie, a soybean grower from Lake Crystal, Minn. "This donation not only helps meet immediate needs in fighting hunger, but it creates local business opportunities with the SoyCows."
"Our members chose to donate to this worthwhile cause to show our commitment to the food industry globally. Many, many people worldwide do not have the financial ability to obtain a quality food source, so this project was our way to try and make a difference in some people's lives," says Todd Sinner, Sales Manager at SB&B Foods, Inc., one of the member contributors. A "SoyCow" is a processing system that can grind and cook whole soybeans into soymilk to make beverages, soya "cheese" (tofu), yogurt and other soyfoods. The SoyCow can process about 4 pounds of raw soybeans into 4 gallons of nutritious soymilk in about 20 minutes. This soymilk can then be further processed into value-added products such as tofu and yogurt. The insoluble parts of the bean can be used to enhance the nutrition of local foods, such as breads, patties, stews and other blends. The World Soy Foundation needs donations like this to help these micro enterprises get started and become sustainable; other organizations in Guatemala have already expressed interest in joining the program and obtaining SoyCows.
The Northern Food Grade Soybean Association contributors are Brushvale Seed Inc. of Breckenridge, MN; Peterson Farms Seeds, Harwood, ND; Richland Organics of Breckenridge, MN; Red River Valley Seed Company of Hillsboro, ND; SK Foods International of Fargo; SB & B Foods Inc. of Casselton, ND; SunOpta Grains and Food Group of Moorhead, MN and Unity Seed of Casselton, ND. Additional local contributions include packaging materials from NorthStar Packaging and freight reductions from Trailer Transfer Trucking and Zim Shipping Line.
"U.S. northern region soybeans are already recognized as the world's finest in food-grade quality," says Sinner. "The Northern Food Grade Soybean Association united the specialized soybean industry to maintain and enhance product quality."
The World Soy Foundation is a charitable organization that works with private voluntary and non-governmental organizations to deliver soy protein and nutrition education to people who need it around the world. Projects sponsored by the World Soy Foundation include complementary foods for children 6-36 months, school feeding programs and soy nutritional services.
The World Soy Foundation is different from the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program that U.S. soybean growers also support. While some of the work WISHH did in its early years was humanitarian in nature, the World Soy Foundation expands on that experience, says WISHH Executive Director Jim Hershey. WISHH will continue to work with private companies in developing countries to build demand and markets for U.S. soy products. "By creating the World Soy Foundation, soybean farmers are inviting everyone to take part in helping people improve their diets through educational efforts and select international feeding programs," Hershey said.
Contact: Karen Edwards, World Soy Foundation
Phone: 703-281-7600
Email: karen@kcegroup.com
