Providing Relief Across the Globe

Giving Global Meals Children's Hunger Fund

Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF) continues to receive contributions and support from the USANA Foundation to help fund Food Paks for families in desperate need. Some countries helped are Romania, Albania, Ukraine, Belarus, Myanmar, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic.

Canada

The USANA Foundation continues to make an impact for struggling indigenous families in Canada through our partnership with Canadian Feed the Children. This year we issued a grant of $32,192 that provided over 70,000 meals to 2,500 people and garden resources to 63 families in four different areas: Esgenôpetitj First Nation, Birch Narrows Dene Nation, Turnor Lake, and Lubicon Lake Band.

China

In 2015, through cooperation with China Rural Development Foundation (CRDF) the USANA Foundation began providing aid in China. By the end of 2022, the total donations we’ve recieved from USANA BabyCare, Associates, and other public welfare channels reached $3,859,765.

Apart from our many projects in China, last year we helped establish the Village Angel Initiative. Our objective is to improve the conditions of rural medical facilities and equipment in underdeveloped areas, support rural doctors, improve the quality of rural medical services, popularize health knowledge, and provide more dependable health protection for rural communities. We donated approximately $148,000 to this project. Our donation provided 126 medical kits to 128 village clinics and doctors in the Langao County of Shaanxi Province. On January 9, we held an opening ceremony for this initiative and received the endorsement of the CRDF, Shaanxi Provincial Rural Revitalization Bureau, and local governments.

Australia

For over five years, the USANA Foundation has partnered with Foodbank Australia to support their Key Staples Program. A Foundation grant of $21,814 enabled Foodbank to source enough food to distribute 60,000 meals across vulnerable communities in Australia through their community-driven network of 2,950 frontline charities.

In September 2022, we also helped establish Garden Towers at our Australia offices.

“It was a great opportunity to connect with our Associates, help them understand the Garden Towers concept, and educate them on the value of the USANA Foundation and the difference they make when they contribute. We plan on really accelerating this project in 2023 and are excited to positively impact the lives and health of those in need.”

-Rochelle Potter, Regional General Manager for Australia & New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand has a population of approximately five million people. Although it’s not one of the most populous countries, poverty still exists. Significant economic restructuring in the 1980s led to prosperity for some and poverty for others. Currently one in five New Zealanders experience food insecurity—16% living in poverty, affecting more than 20% of New Zealand’s children.

Thankfully, New Zealand has a few generous charities that continuously reach out to those in need. And we know charities succeed with the support of others, which is why KidsCan appreciates the USANA Foundation. Together since 2015, we’ve been helping at-risk Kiwi children thrive. Your generous donations have helped us give over $100,000 to ensure these kids get their critical needs met and bellies full so they can gain the most from their education.

USANA New Zealand employees and Associates also strive to make a difference. They are a small, but enthusiastic team. Eager to expand the Garden Tower Initiative, they’ve jumped in to fund and develop it for local charities.

They reached out to the community for help planting 14 Garden Towers, and Bunnings Warehouse (a local home and garden shop) graciously donated needed supplies. To top it off, the local supermarket stepped up to bring lunch to all the hard-working volunteers. One particular day the team planted through continuous rain, covered in mud, surrounded by delighted kindergarten children. Momentous, to say the least, for all involved.

USANA New Zealand plans to do even more in 2023. Currently KidsCan delivers food in over 900 schools and Kindergartens (49,000 meals every day across the island). The City Mission provides 97,000 food parcels to Aucklanders alone. A lot of this food is preserved or processed. And although any food is better than no food, teaching people to grow Garden Towers to eat healthy will create lasting, positive habits.

Philippines

With the help of dozens of Associates and our long-time partner, Project Pearls, the USANA Foundation embarked on one of its most ambitious Garden Tower launches.

In 2013, over 500 Project Pearls families were relocated from the slum community of Ulingan at Tondo, Manila to a government housing center in Bulacan, north of Metro Manila. Although these families now have much-needed homes, they lack employment opportunities and often return to the slums—despite the unhealthy conditions—to earn an income. Project Pearls seeks to address this issue by tackling extreme poverty, lack of job skills, lack of existing livelihood opportunities, and food insecurity.

With the introduction of USANA Garden Towers, families have gained food security with just a little bit of water and sunlight. The USANA Foundation worked with Project Pearls to help women make additional income assembling the fabric used for the Garden Towers. This funded five new industrial sewing machines, repair and maintenance supplies, and training. Once sewn, they are distributed to other partners and Associates to build towers in their communities. Our goal is to build 3,000 Garden Towers, and we hope to hit it in the next few months.

“I could barely contain my emotions as I stepped back from building the first-ever USANA Garden Tower in the Philippines. To see the stark contrast of healthy seedlings sprouting out from the mesh fabric next to the decapitated buildings and garbagefilled streets of Tondo was like nothing I had ever experienced. I am so encouraged by the joy I witnessed from the families who received them and the hope it sprouts.”

-Brian Paul, USANA Foundation President

Singapore

For the past few years, A Packet of Rice has worked with several individuals, groups, and companies as part of their corporate social responsibility events. USANA Associate Fabien Ghys spearheaded a USANA Foundation matching grant fundraiser with his team to deliver food to the elderly shut-ins in Singapore. As with all USANA Foundation matching grants, his final donation goal was doubled to make an even greater impact.

Once the funds were raised, 23 Associates boxed up the meals and spent hours climbing what seemed like endless stairways to 230 households with these heavy boxes of food. In all, they helped 320 elderly people receive 1,200 meals.

Malaysia

During World Service Week, USANA Malaysia partnered with Suriana Welfare Society to provide $20,000 of supplemental grocery items to 1,000 families.

USANA Malaysia also gathered about a dozen Associates and employees to build their first Garden Towers. This inspired USANA leaders to take initiative and go into their communities to build Garden Towers themselves. Lucas Lim and Jane Leow worked with their Happiness Team to build more than 35 towers and are looking forward to many more in 2023.

Thanks to our continuous partnership with Operation Underground Railroad, we are deeply involved in helping to give food and nutrition to survivors recovering from the trauma of human trafficking. And now, these survivors are healing through sustainable gardening. USANA Garden Towers are being established at aftercare homes all over the world. You’ll find 60 of them in Malaysia, producing over 78,000 meals in just the first year! Our latest aftercare home, Damansara Women’s Home, will receive key food items to help nourish 60 women as their Garden Towers grow.

France

In 2022, Kheira from the Association AncrAges embarked on a new Garden Tower pilot project in the region of Lorraine, France—one of the poorest in the country where the government places much of its support and focus.

Three Garden Towers were built in a school to spread awareness for sustainable programs. And an "Educational Vegetable Garden" has been created for the families in the community. The project caught the attention of the mayor who attended a launch event with Associates and other leaders in the community. They spent the day building 34 more Garden Towers in the communities surrounding Geneva, Annemasse, Valleiry, Neydens, and SaintJulien-en-Genevois.

So far, the Garden Towers established in France will provide 174,200 meals for families in these communities. And we’re looking forward to many more in 2023.

Indonesia

Always excited to participate in World Service Week, this year’s project for Indonesia was expanded to include Garden Towers for four villages—Bubulak, Ciherang, Situgede, and Babakan. Following which, a health check was performed for residents of the Babakan.

USANA Ambassadors, Shahnaz Haque and Ditta Intan Carlany, shared health education with children and adults in the villages. USANA volunteers in attendance helped children plant vegetable seeds prepared by the IPB University Team using recycled USANA product bottles. At the end of the event, the USANA Foundation gave 60 goodie bags to children in the Babakan Village.

Korea

USANA Associates and employees collaborated with Korean Food for Hungry International to spearhead a Happy Sharing

Day to share boxes of food and written letters of encouragement with 500 children in nine cities. Each box contained 13 food items, along with USANA product, to help fill the bellies of some of Korea’s most vulnerable children.

Hong Kong

In 2021, employees and Associates in Hong Kong raised $78,000 for food for some of its most struggling communities. In 2022, they shot for an even higher goal of $100,000. Not only did they achieve it, but the USANA Foundation matched this donation to double the impact to $200,000!

Working with Angel Food Rescue and Assistance Program, they used their own kitchen to create over 16,000 healthy food meal boxes and deliver them to elderly members of the community.