On a frigid Saturday morning in January 2010, 36 General Mills scientists, engineers and retired technologists met in Minneapolis to hear about malnourished kids in Malawi.    They were told that Malawi is a tiny country with 13 million people, most of whom are farmers in chronic poverty. Hunger is the primary reason 13 percent of the children die before they reach age 5.

“Whose fault is it that these kids don’t have enough to eat? Malnutrition is not a bad thing done by bad people. It just is,” Dr. Mark Manary, professor of pediatrics at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., told the group. “This isn’t about villains and heroes. These kids just don’t have enough to eat.”

This is among projects undertaken by Partners in Food Solutions, which links the expertise of General Mills employees with small- and medium-sized food processors in Africa.

Manary was at General Mills to meet with employee volunteers who would begin to help him fight the ravages of hunger through Project Peanut Butter (PPB), a nonprofit organization he founded in Malawi to produce and distribute a high-nutrient and caloric peanut butter paste that’s saving the lives of severely malnourished children across the country. (It is one of 14 projects undertaken by Partners in Food Solutions, which links the expertise of General Mills employees with small- and medium-sized food processors in Africa.)

Between 2004 and 2006, Manary treated more than 12,000 malnourished kids, and he saw a 90 percent recovery rate. Today, this Readyto-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is recognized by the World Health Organization and other global food programs to be an effective treatment.

A treatment that works Agnes Paiva knows firsthand how the paste that she knows as “chiponde” has helped her 14-month-old son, Chisomo.

“My son was sick. He was very weak and listless, had diarrhea and was vomiting,” she said outside the Makwhira Village Health Center in Malawi.

She had walked 10 kilometers (6 miles) that morning to bring Chisomo to the clinic to get him checked and to pick up more chiponde. “I‘m feeding him chiponde five times a day and doing what I’ve been taught. Now, he’s getting big and fat.” Chisomo’s chart shows that he’s gained nearly 1 kilogram (22 pounds) in the last month and is well enough to “graduate” from the treatment program.

“This is very hopeful,” Dr. Indi Trehan said over the sound of crying children as he treats Chisomo and about 70 other kids who came with their mothers that morning. Trehan is a clinic fellow in pediatrics at Washington University working for Project Peanut Butter in Malawi. “You can’t get sad about the kid who shows up and gets better. It’s the kid out in the village who should be here that you get sad about.”

Working to help many, including HIV patients Manary shares a similarly positive attitude with General Mills’ volunteers who are helping his project improve efficiency at its plant in Blantyre, Malawi. Employees are helping the plant reduce costs, improve food safety and developing a RUTF recipe to treat HIV patients.

“To me, it’s most important that this help is genuine and real,” Manary said after meeting with employees. “Just because we have the right feelings doesn’t mean it helps. I don’t need just good wishes; I need solutions.”

The 40-plus General Mills employees who work on PPB fit their volunteer work into their week days or spend nights and weekends to advance their objectives. They most often say how lucky they feel to be able to apply their knowledge and expertise to such a worthwhile cause.

“As a food scientist, I have a job at General Mills that helps me feed and nourish my family,” says Erika Smith, who leads the PPB team. “Project Peanut Butter nourishes my soul.”

 Inside General Mills