Food insecurity is on the rise. As of 2023, nearly 10% of the global population is going hungry—as many as 783 million empty bellies—and there’s more to this hunger crisis than poverty.
As the Earth’s climate transforms, once-thriving land has turned desolate, leaving previous sources of sustainable food out of reach. With growing social unrest combined with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, hunger affects more people every day.
In 2008, US-based nonprofit Feeding America established Hunger Action Month to bring awareness and inspire action to solve this critical issue, and the USANA Foundation is taking this message globally. Since 2012, the USANA Foundation has worked to solve malnutrition by developing communities built around sustainable and nutritious food sources.
The Foundation’s operating expenses are funded 100% by USANA Health Sciences, allowing every donation to go straight to those in need.
How USANA Is Fighting Hunger, Globally
Unique solutions allow the Foundation to bring the most success to families and individuals across the globe. We’ve given aid in 44 countries—providing over 74 million meals, countless Usanimals bottles to support childhood nutrition, and over $26 million in financial aid.
Near the headquarters of USANA Health Sciences, in our own community, programs like Kids Eat focus on supporting children along the Wasatch Front who live in food insecure homes. Weekend bags give these children enough food to sustain them on the days they can’t rely on school meals.
Long-term, life-saving nutrition from the USANA Foundation
Short-term help like immediate food relief can be lifesaving, but truly ending malnutrition takes long-term solutions. Equipping communities with the tools and resources they need to grow their own sources of food brings independent—and sustainable—solutions.
The USANA Foundation began the Garden Towers project in 2019 to provide a sustainable solution for thousands of communities across the globe. These innovative Towers are strategically designed to take up minimal space but offer maximum reward.
Each 1 m x 1.2 m Tower combines heavy-duty mesh with flexible tubing to support a vertical garden that can sustain up to 120 plants. Their unique design utilizes 30% less water than traditional gardens, making them sustainable even in drought conditions and areas with reduced water access.
A full-grown Tower can produce five or more nutrient-dense meals a week for a family of six, and any excess harvest is often sold or given to those in the community in desperate need.
For the 2020 pilot program, the USANA Foundation partnered with Kenya-based nonprofit 100 Humanitarians to plant and support 100 Towers. And just three short years later, 20,121 towers are thriving in 14 countries around the world!
How You Can Fight Hunger Today with the USANA Foundation
This project is growing every day—and the Foundation is always looking for community partners to get more of these Towers in the hands of those in need. Thanks to countless charitable donations and dedicated volunteers, ending food insecurity and malnutrition is possible.
Now is the perfect time during Hunger Action Month to join us in empowering families around the world through sponsoring a Garden Tower community, signing up for a service trip, or becoming a monthly donor to the USANA Foundation or USANA Kids Eat. Together, we can confront malnutrition on a local and global scale, helping kids and families thrive and have hope for their futures.
