PREGUNTAS FRECUENTES

Quaker Qrece ® is a program made possible thanks to the alliance between Quaker and Un Kilo de Ayuda, which offers a comprehensive intervention through a clinically proven model to overcome mild and moderate malnutrition in children between 2 and 5 years of age. This program seeks to help solve the serious problem of child malnutrition and raise awareness, to work together for the future of mexican girls and boys.

Quaker firmly believes that life circumstances should not be a barrier to good nutrition and therefore decided to bring its brand purpose to life through Quaker Qrece®, seeking to promote a program that helps change the lives of thousands of Mexican girls and boys.

Quaker® contributed the strength of its super grain to develop a specialized food formulated that complements the basic nutritional needs of children at risk of malnutrition, and together with the field experience of the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda in Mexico, developed a comprehensive model to combat and prevent malnutrition. This alliance has allowed us: 1) To get closer to the communities to know their needs, and in this way to be able to develop and deliver specialized food to combat mild and moderate child malnutrition. 2) To integrate an educational component that includes workshops on hygiene, nutrition and health, in order to provide tools that contribute to a comprehensive recovery that will ultimately translate into a positive impact on the quality of life of children and their families. 3) And through donations and consumer purchases to reach more children each year.

The program began in 2016 in Mexico together with Quaker® and the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda, developing the intervention model that was tested through two clinical studies. In 2019 the first generation started and in 2021 the second generation of program beneficiaries. In 2021 the initiative arrived in Guatemala and over time we hope to be able to support more children to combat malnutrition in Latin America.

The program involves the delivery of specialized food to boys and girls for a period of 12 months and an additional year of follow-up evaluation, together with educational workshops on hygiene, nutrition and health, which are offered to the families of the beneficiaries the tools to achieve a complete recovery.

Quaker® is an ally of nutrition in the country. In recent years, Quaker® has collaborated with non-profit organizations, such as the Banco de Alimentos de Mexico, delivering donations of bars, Avena 3 Minutos and cereals, for families in a situation of food poverty. Additionally, during 2020 Quaker® donated more than 9 tons of product to health personnel in the first line of attention to the pandemic and 18 tons of Avena 3 Minutos for 20,000 families in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Yucatan, State of Mexico and Sinaloa through Un Kilo de Ayuda.

We know that child malnutrition is a complex problem whose solutions depend on the collaboration of many sectors of society. On the Quaker® side, a specialized food has been developed to combat child malnutrition and financial support has been given for the implementation of the project at the community level. To execute the community and educational component, Quaker® searched the experience and knowledge of an implementing NGO in each of the countries in which the program operates.

The first ally in Mexico is the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda, which has added all the experience and leadership in the field to get closer to the communities and learn about their needs. Un Kilo de Ayuda has 35 years of work in favor of Early Childhood Development in Mexico, through different strategies to improve the conditions in which boys and girls from 0 to 5 years old grow and develop.

Un Kilo de Ayuda is responsible for the execution of the program: location of the beneficiary population; training for families on the use of specialized food, as well as nutrition, hygiene and sensitive parenting; monthly weight and height measurements; indicator reporting.

A second ally is the PepsiCo Mexico Foundation, which thanks to the voluntary contributions of PepsiCo employees, funds and accompanies the program hand in hand with Quaker®.

The third ally are consumers and society, who, through their direct donations to Un Kilo de Ayuda or through their purchases at supermarket of participating Quaker ® products, allow us to continue donating specialized food and raise funds to reach more boys and girls n in the country.

Un Kilo de Ayuda Website: https://www.unkilodeayuda.org.mx/

Thank you for your interest in the fight against child malnutrition. There are 2 ways:

• a. Making a direct donation through this page

  Your donation can help the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda to implement the program and reach more communities. So more boys and girls will have access to our specialized food and their families will improve their knowledge of hygiene, nutrition and health.

• b. Buying a Quaker® product

  We have partnered with some business clients during the months of April and May, for each participating Quaker product * purchased, we will donate a daily portion of specialized food formulated to help supplement the basic nutritional needs of children at risk of mild malnutrition and moderate. *

The intervention model at the community level is divided into the following pillars:

• 1. Distributing Nutrition

  We have developed a specialized food based on peanuts, eggs, oats, vitamins and minerals, which will be distributed free of charge to girls and boys from 2 to under 5 years of age who have mild and / or moderate acute or chronic malnutrition, and who have been selected by the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda within the program in the areas where it operates. This specialized food will be delivered on a monthly basis and must be consumed daily for 12 months.

• 2. Working as a team

  With the support of Un Kilo de Ayuda, the Quaker Qrece® program conducts visits to prioritized communities and identifies children with mild and / or moderate acute or chronic malnutrition; and we invite you to be part of the program. Monthly we deliver our specialized food and monitor its consumption. We carry out nutritional evaluations of weight and height on a quarterly basis, with the aim of providing comprehensive care to the boy and girl to verify their progress.

• 3. Family Training

  Un Kilo de Ayuda conducts monthly trainings for families participating in the program on crucial topics that have a significant impact on the quality of life of their children.

  • Health: Healthy pregnancy - Breastfeeding and complementary feeding - Timely stimulation
  • Nutrition: Healthy eating for infants – “Healthy Eating Plate” (El Plato del Buen Comer) - Consumption of vitamins and minerals - Consequences of malnutrition
  • Hygiene: Drinking Water - Hygiene and basic sanitation

The intervention at the community level is executed through Un Kilo de Ayuda and a team of professionals in the field. To follow up with the families, the project facilitators hold periodic meetings and educational workshops in agreement with the communities. These spaces allow the mothers, fathers or family guardians of the communities to meet and give workshops on different topics of health, hygiene and nutrition on a monthly basis. At the same time, the supply of specialized Quaker Qrece® food is delivered for each day of the week.

With the support of Un Kilo de Ayuda, home visits are carried out in the different prioritized communities and girls and boys with symptoms of mild or moderate malnutrition are identified to invite them to be part of the program. Monthly we deliver our specialized food and monitor its consumption. We carry out nutritional evaluations of weight and height on a quarterly basis, with the aim of providing comprehensive care to the boy and girl to verify their progress.

The design of the specialized food was based on the recommendations for the management of moderate malnutrition in children under 5 years of the WHO, UNICEF and WFP (World Food program).¹

To verify the effectiveness of the intervention model, two clinical studies were carried out from 2015 to 2017 in areas of Mexico where there is a high prevalence of malnutrition in children under 5 years of age. In both studies, very positive results were obtained both in the prevention and in the treatment of moderate malnutrition in rural communities. The results of the study on the prevention of moderate malnutrition are published in the Gaceta Médica de México 2020; 156 (6): 499-508 and those for the treatment of moderate malnutrition are accepted in the process of being published by the same scientific journal, Gac Med Mex 2021; 157:443-451

Website: https://gacetamedicademexico.com/frame_esp.php?id=500

https://www.gacetamedicademexico.com/frame_eng.php?id=619

This program is currently running in Mexico and Guatemala. In Mexico, the program is operated by the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda. The first Generation of children began in November 2019 with 2,900 children, and the second generation began in March 2021 reaching more than 3,500 children, so far with presence in 5 states (Mexico, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Sinaloa and Yucatán) of the country. In Guatemala, the intervention is being carried out with a first generation of 2,200 boys and girls located in the departments of Chimaltenango and Escuintla, in 7 prioritized municipalities based on an analysis by CARE Guatemala that allowed defining the municipalities and departments with the highest prevalence of child malnutrition mild and moderate.

The selection of the beneficiary child population is carried out by Un Kilo de Ayuda based on evaluation criteria of weight, height and age (between 2 and 5 years) that have been referred by the health services at the community level. Then, the invitation is made to the parents of the child so that they can learn more about the program and voluntarily accept if they participate, to then start the delivery of specialized food and give them training in health, hygiene and nutrition.

After completing 12 months of consumption of the specialized food, an observation phase continues for an additional year, to be able to validate if the child maintained the improvement presented in their nutritional status. In parallel, it is very important that the whole family has incorporated the new knowledge of health, hygiene and nutrition, so that this works as part of the prevention for relapses in the child's nutritional status.

This program works based on evaluations carried out by the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda at the unity level, in which girls and boys with the potential to be incorporated into the program are selected, under criteria of weight, height and age (between 2 and 5 years) , in order to support them in their nutritional recovery. Individual applications are not currently being received for new entrants.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are different types of malnutrition: stunting (low height-for-age), emaciation (low weight-for-age), underweight (low weight-for-age), and micronutrient deficiencies and these in turn can be classified according to the degree of severity into mild, moderate and severe:

Underweight for height or emaciation is called acute malnutrition. It usually indicates a recent and severe weight loss, because the child has not eaten enough and / or has an infectious disease such as diarrhea that has caused the weight loss.

Insufficient height for age is called stunting and is the result of chronic or recurrent malnutrition. Growth retardation prevents children from fully developing their physical and cognitive potential.

It is a specialized food ready to be consumed with the aim of supplementing the diet of children with a condition of mild-moderate malnutrition. It is made from Quaker® oats, peanuts, eggs and milk. This formula aims to provide energy (calories) from good fats, good quality protein and 17 vitamins and minerals necessary for the growth and development of children, in amounts ranging from 20% to more than 90% of the daily recommendation and that are deficient nutrients in children in vulnerable conditions.

The daily portion of consumption of the specialized food of Quaker Qrece®, provides calories from different sources of fats, carbohydrates and proteins necessary to promote growth, promote health and enhance cognitive development. This portion is 50 grams and provides 250 calories, which is what is recommended to supplement the diet of children with mild-moderate malnutrition.

Quaker Qrece's specialized food contains peanuts, as it is a highly nutritious food with a high content of good fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals, ideal for giving the product nutritional density. Although in Latin America the population with an allergic reaction to peanuts is low, we always take care of this aspect when we initiate an intervention, making sure that the beneficiary of the product does not have a history of allergic reaction and does not present it when he begins to consume the specialized food. Contains other allergenic ingredients such as wheat, other cereals with gluten (oats), milk, egg and soy.

The formula is high in calories from good fats, good quality protein, and significant amounts of vitamins and minerals. Its objective is to complement the children's diet, that is, to consume it in addition to their daily food, to provide that extra energy and nutrients that will allow them to compensate for both energy and nutrient deficiencies. Treatment time is essential, in clinical studies we observe that the first signs of recovery occur after 4 months, however it remains constant until 6 months and continues to improve until one year, which is important to avoid relapses. Additionally, it is accompanied by educational sessions that allow families to improve their hygiene and food practices, which positively complements comprehensive recovery.

This specialized food must be consumed daily for 12 months, in which the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda delivers it to participating families on a monthly basis. It is important to mention that the clinical studies carried out in Mexico allowed us to understand that treatment time is essential, the fastest recovery speed occurs in the first 4 months, however it remains constant up to 6 months and continues to improve until one year, which is important to avoid relapses.

If the child's parents voluntarily withdraw it:

The time of the intervention is essential to prevent or reverse malnutrition. The risk of interrupting the consumption of specialized food is that the child does not manage to get out of the risk condition in which he / she finds himself or that, having achieved positive results, the condition of malnutrition relapses or worsens.

If according to the monitoring of weight and height is the recommended time: The follow-up of the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda is fundamental to know the evolution of each one of our children; When they reach their normal weight and remain on the program but continue to gain weight not proportional to height, strict monitoring allows Un Kilo de Ayuda staff to pause consumption for a time and continue monitoring to ensure maintenance of the child and avoid a gain of unnecessary weight.

If you have an allergic reaction:

Although in Latin America the population with an allergic reaction to peanuts is low, we take great care of this aspect when we initiate an intervention, making sure that the beneficiary of the product does not have a history of allergic reaction. If one of the children were to present such a reaction to this or other ingredients, the correct thing to do is to interrupt the consumption of the food so that it can be treated through other care programs recommended by the health service at the community level.

The composition of this type of product is based on the degree of malnutrition of the target population. Our specialized food provides an energy content for the management of mild-moderate malnutrition. The intervention model with Un Kilo de Ayuda allows the monitoring of the evolution of each child to ensure their recovery, managing cut-off points that allow deciding when to stop eating food to avoid unnecessary weight gain. This product is not for free sale nor can it be consumed by children who have not been previously analyzed under the strict criteria of the program.

The design of the specialized food was carried out by evaluating various presentations of the most common foods in the population, to avoid changing their habits and making it well accepted by children, and thereby achieving adherence to consumption. Evaluating different alternatives, the cookie format was selected because it is a ready-to- eat food and does not need drinking water for its preparation. On the other hand, this format was also considered an advantage due to its extended expiration date that allows maintaining nutrient levels over time and reaching remote and difficult-to-access communities in the right conditions.

This is a food developed specifically for the Quaker Qrece® protocol and is part of a comprehensive intervention model. It is not an over-the-counter food and cannot be found at retail outlets. The food is produced and distributed in Mexico for direct delivery to families through the NGO Un Kilo de Ayuda.

It is a bi-oriented polypropylene packaging that ensures the protection of the product throughout the supply chain, maintaining its properties for a specified period of time, thus guaranteeing its freshness.

At this time it is not a biodegradable material, however we have looked out to minimize the amount of plastic used, ensuring the quality of the product, looking for ways to be able to recycle these materials in the manufacture of sub-products used within our processes of manufacturing.

Through the Un Kilo de Ayuda work team, a strategy for collecting the packaging and proper disposal has been defined through garbage collectors.