In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, child nutrition and feeding programs around the world are facing challenges they had never encountered before. How can we continue to support children and families in need during this pandemic?

At the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation (HNF), we work with our partners to make sure children in vulnerable situations have access to nutritious food, education, and care. We want every child, no matter the background, to have boundless opportunities.

The members of our Casa Herbalife Nutrition program ­– through which we leverage local initiatives and partner with existing charities to provide healthy meals and nutrition education to children and families around the world – have shown a tremendous commitment to continue their work during these times of uncertainty.

How Casas Are Adapting to the Pandemic

We currently support 171 Casas Herbalife Nutrition, and though they are located all over the world, they have all faced similar challenges due to COVID-19. The most common challenges have been:

Funding should be allocated where it is needed the most, which is why our Casas have reallocated resources to overcome some of these challenges.

Here are some examples of how our partners are adjusting their approach:

Sunshine Butterflies hosting a virtual sing-along
Sunshine Butterflies is an HNF partner supporting those with special needs. They recently launched Butterfly TV to stay connected and support each other virtually.

We’ve also come across some great stories about shifting in-person education to a virtual space.

HNF Success Stories: Helping Kids Reach Their Full Potential

We are inspired by the alternatives our partners have found to continue supporting children and their families. Our goal has always been to provide nutritious food and nutrition education for children to reach their full potential.

Here are two inspiring stories from our Casa programs showing why the work of HNF is so important:

Andreza, the Soccer Player

Andreza was 16 years old when she moved to Aldeias Infantis SOS (AIS), one of our Casa Herbalife Nutrition partners in Brazil. Her family was not able to provide the necessary education and nutrition for her to succeed in sports, but when she first came to AIS, the staff was very excited because they have never seen such a talented soccer player.

Andreza atCasa Herbalife Brazil

They encouraged her to study and practice every day, gave her access to better nutrition to improve her performance, and took her to multiple competitions around Iguassu. Today, we are happy to say that Andreza has won several race medals at Iguassu and that she was one of the 14 girls chosen out of 200 girls to integrate the junior soccer team of Sport Clube Do Recife, one of the largest soccer teams in the region!

Marc, the Enthusiastic Cook

A Place Called Home (APCH) is one of our Casa Herbalife Nutrition partners in Los Angeles. When Marc arrived as part of a summer program that aims to provide teens with job readiness support and internship placements, he wasn’t very enthusiastic.

However, that slowly changed as Marc began excelling inside and outside of the kitchen. He came out of his shell and started independently interacting with everyone. He became invested and was committed to the learning process.

A Place Called Home

On the last day of his internship, Marc requested to make lunch to thank the staff. Without anyone’s assistance, Marc made shrimp linguine and banana cream pudding, two of his personal favorites, for everyone. The staff agreed that it was a humbling experience to see Marc grow so much in a short time.

To learn more about our Casa program and how you can help, please visit HerbalifeNutritionFoundation.org