Today’s post is sponsored by Truvia who has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme to positively impact rural Bolivian communities.

Truvia’s Sharing a Sweet Future Initiative launched in 2012 as an effort between Truvia and the United Nations World Food Programme to improve the lives of thousands of children in rural Bolivia through enhancing nutrition and establishing safer cooking conditions. This is an issue very close to my heart. I first wrote about this program in 2014 at the beginning of Truvia’s three-year initiative. Fast forward to today, the program is drawing to a close.  While the program might be officially ending, Truvia is justifiably proud of the impact Sharing a Sweet Future has had in establishing healthier, more self-sufficient communities.

Bolivia may seem a world away, but in fact, I have a dear friend and neighbor who is Bolivian herself. My friend Iris, who teaches Spanish at our town’s elementary schools and helped me with my own rusty college Spanish before our recent trip to Peru, is from Bolivia. Through her, I have learned a lot about this unique landlocked South American nation. Iris and her daughter return to Bolivia often to see family and friends, but also to help with medical missions by providing translation services.

Bolivians are proud of their country, one that possesses incredible biodiversity and stunning topography. Although I have never visited Bolivia myself, I have been to its neighbor Peru and seen firsthand the majesty of the Andean landscape. This part of the world is truly magnificent and boasts a rich history and unique culture.

Despite the country’s natural beauty, Bolivia remains one of the poorer nations in South America with one of highest rates of nutritional deficiency in the region. In fact, nearly 40% of the population is unable to afford adequate food for a healthy life. Additionally, 65% of rural households, of which there are many, do not meet the daily recommended caloric intake.

In light of this critical need, on World Food Day in 2012, Truvia joined with the World Food Programme (WFP) to launch its three-year Sharing a Sweet Future initiative. Through this program, Truvia partnered with schools in Bolivia to provide vegetable oil fortified with the highest level of Vitamin A nutrients and micronutrient powders in school meal baskets, to help children combat nutritional deficiencies. Truvia’s involvement came at a critical moment, according to Sergio Torres, head of Programme, WFP Bolivia:

Truvia’s support came at a time when we didn’t have any resources, and were almost going to close this type of program.

Why is it so important to provide meals in schools? For one thing, it gives rural parents an incentive to educate their children, who might otherwise be working in the fields. The result is an increase in school enrollment. Listen to this testimonial from Ramiro Alvino, a program Field Monitor:

Nicolas Flores attends the 5th grade in the Huapi School in the Municipality of Poroma. Among other things, he says that he and his sister and brother are continuing their studies thanks to the school feeding program, as only his mother is supporting them.

The schools, in turn, purchase food from local farmers which helps boost their income. Rick Leach, President and CEO of the World Food Program USA noted that the students’ and teachers’ lunch ingredients were often sourced from local farmers, “helping lift those farmers out of chronic hunger and poverty themselves.” Thus, the program is all about creating a more sustainable future for the people of Bolivia

Moreover, Truvia has ensured that these communities can sustain the gains that they have made by working with the local population to build cleaner, more energy-efficient stoves. Traditional cookstoves and open fires produce high levels of smoke which causes pollution and smoke-related illnesses, particularly in women and girls. Construction of new, safer cookstoves that use less fuel and generate less harmful smoke in schools means better health for the people of Bolivia and for their environment.

The scope of this three-year initiative is astonishing: Truvia has provided nutrition for some 67,000 Bolivian school children; donated 130 metric tons of fortified vegetable oil to cook two meals per day for these children; and installed 258 energy-efficient stoves so that this work can continue going forward.

The “Sharing a Sweet Future” campaign is just one element of the Truvia brand’s comprehensive corporate responsibility program. As the leading stevia brand, Truvia is committed to sourcing responsibly, stewarding natural resources and working to improve the communities in which it operates. As the Sharing a Sweet Future partnership with the World Food Programme draws to a close, Truvia has every reason to feel proud of its impact in Bolivia.

Full disclosure time: This post was sponsored by Truvia and I have received compensation for my work. As always, all opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.