Malnutrition Matters

Thank you for the mention Thrive Philanthropy. We are happy and thankful for your support, and proud to join the global movement of Thrive awardees doing good.

We have landed Accra! Malnutrition Matters is excited to be attending the AVA International Summit 2026 from July 16–19 at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra, Ghana. We look forward to connecting with fellow changemakers, sharing our work on locally led, plant-based nutrition solutions, and building new partnerships for greater impact. If you are around, let's connect! #AVASummit2026 #MalnutritionMatters #PlantBasedNutrition #FoodSecurity #GlobalHealth #AccraGhana Thrive Philanthropy Alliance for Human Animal Coexistence Stray Dog Institute Food System Innovations Dawn Moncrief Hart Jansson Taylor Quinn Dr. Jacob AYANG Dash Meizler Ⓥ Kholisani Ndlovu ProVeg International UNICEF

The shoots from these seeds of possibility continue to grow! Malnutrition Matters is a recipient of the #Seeds&possibility award from Alliance for Human Animal Coexistence, and we can't help but smile at the possibilities these grants are bringing to our community. Meet Asha, one of our entrepreneurs. In just six months, her Business-in-a-Box #Soyakit from Malnutrition Matters has transformed not only her income but also created new opportunities for her family and increased access to nutritious foods in her community. Her story is a reminder that addressing malnutrition isn't only about food; it's about creating opportunities, strengthening local economies, and empowering communities to lead their own solutions. Thank you to #AHAC for believing in locally led, sustainable approaches to nutrition. We can't wait to see what the next chapter holds. #NutritionSecurity #PlantBased #FoodSystems #FactoryFarming Hart Jansson, Dr. Mercy Lung'aho, Taylor Quinn Fabio Rappenecker Dawn Moncrief Peter Akomo Betelhem Lakew, Jeff Doyle Ariana C.Katherine Baxter, Ph.D. Chris Hendrickson, UNICEF Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Alliance for Human Animal Coexistence, IKEA, The Rockefeller Foundation

The purpose of a candle is not merely to burn, but to ignite hope in others. One way we sustain our impact over the long term is by investing our time and effort in promising entrepreneurs we have christened "Mentor Champions." These individuals become local catalysts for change—building thriving nutrition enterprises, mentoring the next generation of food entrepreneurs, and spreading the message that affordable, locally produced plant-based foods can transform health, livelihoods, and the environment. Listen to one such Mentor Champion, Fadhila, as she shares how our SoyaKit "Business-in-a-Box" has empowered her to build a successful enterprise while bringing a wide range of nutritious soy-based foods to her community. It takes approximately US$500 and just three months to develop a Mentor Champion. That modest investment creates a lasting ripple effect, equipping one entrepreneur to improve community nutrition, inspire others, and make affordable soy products more accessible, displacing the equivalent of at least 10,000 eggs' worth of animal protein each year! #NutritionSecurity #PlantBased #FoodSystems #FactoryFarming Hart Jansson, Dr. Mercy Lung'aho, Taylor Quinn Fabio Rappenecker Dawn Moncrief Peter Akomo Betelhem Lakew, Jeff Doyle Ariana C.Katherine Baxter, Ph.D. Chris Hendrickson, Thomas Goodman, Joanna Hellier,Jo Anderson Taylor Waters Carol Destro, UNICEF Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Alliance for Human Animal Coexistence, Georgina Pople, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl Vera Flocke, PhD Moritz Stumpe Jo Anderson Jessika Ava, MS, MPA IKEA Deena Mousa Robbie Lockie The Rockefeller Foundation

The future is Plant based!

A key question in our data collection and impact tracking platform is: "What challenge is preventing you from achieving maximum impact?" For us, this is not just a data point collected for reporting purposes. We follow up. We sit down with entrepreneurs and review their numbers, compare them with their own historical performance, aggregate trends from their peers, and the broader impact being achieved across the network. This helps them understand not only where they are today, but also how their individual contribution fits into a much larger nutrition impact story. More importantly, these conversations create opportunities to identify barriers that may be limiting growth and impact—whether related to production, markets, operations, financing, or distribution—and explore practical solutions together. When we say Malnutrition Matters works directly with entrepreneurs, this is exactly what we mean: not simply collecting data, but using data to support learning, continuous improvement, and greater nutrition impact in the communities they serve. #Nutrition #Entrepreneurship #FoodSystems #ImpactMeasurement #CapacityBuilding #Africa #NutritionMatters #PlantBased #Impact #Entrepreneurship #FoodSystems #Kenya #MalnutritionMatters #SoyaKit Kakamega County Investment and Development Agency, A Well-Fed World / Plants4Hunger World Food Programme, Hart Jansson Tailored Food Iris Ordoñez Guerrero Loreen Dube-Ncube, SDG2 Advocacy Hub, Shimit Foundation, KNCCI Busia County, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rotary Club of Oakville Sebastian Joy.

A key question in our data collection and impact tracking platform is: "What challenge is preventing you from achieving maximum impact?" For us, this is not just a data point collected for reporting purposes. We follow up. We sit down with entrepreneurs and review their numbers, compare them with their own historical performance, aggregate trends from their peers, and the broader impact being achieved across the network. This helps them understand not only where they are today, but also how their individual contribution fits into a much larger nutrition impact story. More importantly, these conversations create opportunities to identify barriers that may be limiting growth and impact—whether related to production, markets, operations, financing, or distribution—and explore practical solutions together. When we say Malnutrition Matters works directly with entrepreneurs, this is exactly what we mean: not simply collecting data, but using data to support learning, continuous improvement, and greater nutrition impact in the communities they serve. #Nutrition #Entrepreneurship #FoodSystems #ImpactMeasurement #CapacityBuilding #Africa #NutritionMatters #PlantBased #Impact #Entrepreneurship #FoodSystems #Kenya #MalnutritionMatters #SoyaKit Kakamega County Investment and Development Agency, A Well-Fed World / Plants4Hunger World Food Programme, Hart Jansson Tailored Food Iris Ordoñez Guerrero Loreen Dube-Ncube, SDG2 Advocacy Hub, Shimit Foundation,Vera Flocke KNCCI Busia County, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Rotary Club of Oakville Sebastian Joy.

Interesting perspectives here... How do you balance? Taylor Quinn Hart Jansson Jessika Ava, MS, MPA Katherine Baxter, Ph.D. Dawn Moncrief

We’ve just returned from the Effective Altruism Summit 2026 in London, and it was, by every measure, one of the most future-focused conversations on doing good that we have been privileged to be part of. One message resonated throughout the summit: the future of impact will be shaped by innovation, entrepreneurship, and our willingness to rethink the systems that underpin human and planetary wellbeing. During the opening session, Lewis Bollard of Coefficient Giving challenged participants to think boldly about the role of AI and entrepreneurship in driving the next generation of social impact. For those of us working to transform food systems through alternative proteins and plant-based nutrition, the message was both timely and inspiring. At Malnutrition Matters, we have spent more than 25 years supporting local entrepreneurs to build nutrition-secure communities through affordable, locally produced plant-based foods. Across Africa and beyond, we have seen entrepreneurship become a powerful force for improving nutrition, creating livelihoods, strengthening local food systems, and reducing reliance on animal-based production. Later, Bruce Friedrich captured the urgency of the challenge perfectly: "There is no Plan B for meat. We have to invest in alternative proteins. The stakes could not be higher." His message underscored a reality we can no longer ignore. Without scalable alternatives, the pressures associated with hunger, malnutrition, climate change, environmental degradation, antimicrobial resistance, pandemic risk, and the rapid expansion of factory farming will continue to grow. For developing countries, this presents a remarkable opportunity. By investing in local entrepreneurs, food innovation, and plant-based nutrition solutions, we can simultaneously improve human health, strengthen economic resilience, and reduce the number of animals raised and slaughtered for food. This is more than a food transition. It is an opportunity to build food systems that are healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more compassionate. If you are interested in supporting high-impact solutions at the intersection of nutrition security, entrepreneurship, climate resilience, and animal welfare, we'd love to connect. #EffectiveAltruism #AlternativeProteins #PlantBased #FoodSystems #NutritionSecurity #AnimalWelfare #GlobalHealth #Nutrition #AnimalWelfare #Entrepreneurship #MalnutritionMatters UNICEF Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Jeroen Koedam River Ewing, Hadley Family Capital Rtn Erick Ndenga, MPH, PMP®,PgMP®. Hart Jansson, Dr. Mercy Lung'aho, Taylor Quinn Fabio Rappenecker Dawn Moncrief Peter Akomo betelehem lakew, Jeff Doyle Ariana C. Katherine Baxter, Ph.D.  Chris Popa, ProVeg International, JD Bauman #WhereMalnutritionMatters

One of the hardest questions the #EffectiveAltruism movement must continue asking is this: How do we reduce animal suffering at scale in a world where billions of people still need affordable, accessible protein? For years, animal advocacy has powerfully highlighted the moral cost of factory farming. But too often, the conversation in low-income settings stopped at reducing animal consumption without sufficiently investing in practical nutrition alternatives that communities could realistically adopt. Demand did not disappear-Factory farming filled the gap. At Malnutrition Matters, we believe one of the most effective ways to reduce long-term dependence on industrial animal agriculture is to expand access to scalable, locally produced alternative proteins. For more than 25 years, we have worked with communities in developing countries to build hyperlocal, low-cost, plant-based nutrition systems tailored for low-resource environments — including non-electric technologies like the SoyaKit that enable local production of nutritious soy foods at community level. From an Effective Altruism standpoint, this is not only about good intentions. It is about measurable impact. If we want to reduce suffering for both humans and animals, we must invest in solutions that are affordable, culturally adaptable, scalable, and capable of reaching the populations where protein insecurity is highest. This week at the Effective Altruism Conference, we are proud to contribute practical, field-tested experience to this conversation. Because safeguarding animals at scale will ultimately require building nutrition systems that leave no community behind. If you would like to learn more about Malnutrition Matters’ work and practical approaches to alternative proteins in low-income settings, connect with Rtn Erick Ndenga, MPH, PMP®,PgMP®. at the conference happening at the Guestrelations InterContinental-London-The O2 in #London. #EffectiveAltruism #AnimalWelfare #AlternativeProteins #GlobalHealth #NutritionSecurity #PlantBased #FoodSystems #FactoryFarming Hart Jansson, Dr. Mercy Lung'aho, Taylor Quinn Fabio Rappenecker Dawn Moncrief Peter Akomo Betelhem Lakew, Jeff Doyle Ariana C.Katherine Baxter, Ph.D. Chris Hendrickson, Thomas Goodman, Joanna Hellier, Dr. Masika Sophie Jo Anderson Taylor Waters Carol Destro, UNICEF Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Alliance for Human Animal Coexistence, Georgina Pople, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl Vera Flocke, PhD Moritz Stumpe Bruce Friedrich Johnny Oberg Jo Anderson Jessika Ava, MS, MPA IKEA Deena Mousa Robbie Lockie The Rockefeller Foundation