Better Days ahead: Kellogg fights hunger in Guatemala

Guatemala has some of the worst food insecurity rates in Latin America

Better Days to Grow Together, a food security programme by Kellogg Company is said to have improved weight and growth in 75 percent of children who participated.

The social and educational programme aims to help girls and boys and their families in Guatemala build new habits and improve their quality of life. The programme supports the infamous company’s Better Days global purpose platform that literally aims to create better days for three billion people by the end of 2030. This includes reaching children worldwide through feeding programmes.

One in two children suffers from malnutrition in Guatemala, which ranks first in Latin America and sixth in the world for the worst rates of child malnutrition.                                                              

The programme by Kellogg had four clear action pillars to promote food security, wellbeing, and to build long-term habits to ensure a brighter future. It provided a daily breakfast of cereal, milk, and fruit, plus nutrition education to children and their families. Participants were trained in gardening skills and encouraged to create community and family gardens to harvest their own food.

Families were also educated on cooking and eating as a family, encouraging them to make better use of the food they have access to, and they had fun by getting physical activity through recreational and community activities. Each time a child and their family accomplish a program goal, they collected a badge that was displayed on a special Better Days to Grow Together shirt.

“We want families to recognise their abilities to obtain healthy and affordable food through fun and educational activities,” said Nicolas Amaya, President of Kellogg Latin America, “We anticipate that many of the families we’re helping will share the lessons they learned with their community and become inspiring agents of change.”

Kellogg is also partnering with Walmart Central America to implement a shopper activation that invites consumers to join the cause by donating cereal to the programme.