Jami Ramirez Bikes to Feed Hungry Kids
Jami Ramirez conquered the Tour Divide, a grueling bikepacking race to raise funds for Mingo Meals for hungry kids.
NVC manufactures Mingo, a nutritious instant complementary food (nutrition sources other than breast milk given to young children). It is made from locally sourced rice, mongo (mung beans), and malunggay (moringa). Mingo was developed primarily for infants and toddlers, and we continue to focus on feeding children from 6 months to 5 years. However, Mingo can also be used for older children in times and areas of need.
Mingo comes in powder form that becomes a porridge when mixed with water. However, some children enjoy snacking on the powder straight out of the pack! Eating Mingo in powder form is safe because the ingredients are already fully cooked.
For variety, we developed other flavors in addition to our original natural flavor. Children enjoy all the different flavors of Mingo: natural (original), chocolate, squash and ube.
Children enrolled in the Mingo Meals Nutrition Program show a marked increase in their weight compared to their peers who are not part it. The mothers also observe an improvement in their children’s intellectual and social behavior.
Mingo can be purchased by organizations, institutions and LGUs for their own feeding programs. One Mingo Meal costs just P8.00 and charitable institutions can apply for discounts for bulk purchases. One 20-g pack of Mingo makes one serving. Click on the link below to buy Mingo. For orders of more than 250 pieces, please email [email protected] or call +63917 309 5551.
“Under-nutrition in the Philippines remains a serious problem. The damage to health, physical growth and brain development of children affected by chronic under-nutrition—stunting in the first two years—is often irreversible, impairing them for life and leaving them with lower chances of finishing school and becoming highly-productive adults.” (Unicef Philippines)
NVC runs a nutrition program using Mingo for children of impoverished families to help them build strong bodies and sharp minds. Our approach is very holistic and systematic. We have recently begun applying a protocol that we based on the model program being used in Peru that has been showing signs of long-term improvements. Not only do we provide complementary food in the form of Mingo Meals, we also provide incentives that encourage participating families to stick to the program. The better families adhere to the program, the more incentives they earn! These can be used to “shop” for food at our quarterly community pantry which we stock on the day of free medical check-ups and health consultations.
NVC’s Mingo Meals nutrition program focuses mainly on clusters of children aged 6–60 months living in in deprived communities. This fills a gap in the nutrition of infants and toddlers. Most of government and NGO feeding programs focus on children 5 years and older, administered either in day care or elementary school.
We also run some special programs for older children that make use of our Mingo Meals, sometimes with the addition fresh produce. To encourage children to go to school, the meals are served at school.
NVC’s protocol for those below 5 years of age is usually home-based. This makes it easier for the parents or guardians who may be too busy to go to a feeding center on a daily basis.
When we enroll children in our Mingo Meals Nutrition Program, we record their starting height and weight. We then monitor the children’s progress monthly throughout the program’s duration. At the start of the program, we orient parents and guardians onthe importance of proper nutrition, give instructions on preparing Mingo. Field officers conduct regular visits to check on beneficiaries.
Recently, Peru tried a different approach to feeding programs and it was very successful and so we decided to take a page from their book. When we adopted the Peru model, we initiated additional services to improve the overall effectivity of the program. We began offering services like quarterly health check-ups and wellness counseling. When families complete tasks such as coming in for these check up or keeping their children’s Mingo passports updated, they earn points. Families can use these points to go ‘shopping’ for food and essentials at the community pantry after quarterly check-ups.
For P8.000, you can enroll an undernourished child in our one-year Mingo Meals nutrition program. There are so many children in need of better nutrition and smaller donations are always welcome. We pool the donations so we can sponsor as many children as we can.
In 2020, the Provincial Governement of Negros Occidental sponsored a 6-month Mingo nutrition program for 2,000 underweight or malnourished children in 10 areas with the highest degrees of malnutrition. As of March 2021, 677 have graduated to normal after 3 months of taking Mingo daily. All areas with Mingo have shown greater improvement than the control group that isn′t on Mingo.
Each 20-gram pack of Mingo is good for one serving.
Vicky, our resident food technologist, gives a virtual tour of NVC’s Mingo production plant.
as of July 2022
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