Providing Nutritious Meals

At Trees That Feed, we understand that by caring for children, we are taking care of our future. Young children need plenty of nutritious food to grow up strong and healthy, and breadfruit is a highly nutritious food that can help the development of young children.

See Breadfruit, A Superfood to learn more about breadfruit’s nutrition specifics.

School Feeding Programs

One of the best and highest uses for breadfruit (and other foods) is feeding schoolchildren. We hear stories of bright, eager kids showing up for school with no breakfast, maybe only a cup of herb tea. It’s hard to learn anything when you’re hungry!

At the beginning of the program, Mary McLaughlin, chair of TTFF, collaborated with several chefs to develop a tasty breadfruit porridge, or hot cereal. The main ingredient is breadfruit flour, and there is also cornmeal and coconut milk.

While we are still providing breadfruit flour to some schools and orphanages, others now receive breadfruit konparets. This is another recipe Mary has perfected with the help of bakers in Haiti and North America. Konparets are hearty buns with a long shelf life. We purchase them from Haitian bakers and use them in not only our school feeding program, but also our Women’s Empowerment Program. Also see Making Breadfruit Konparets for the recipe for konparets.

Both the porridge and konparets are vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free, and the kids can’t get enough!

Currently, we are serving over 20 schools and orphanages in Haiti. TTFF is providing the funding, with support from Buddhist Global Relief.

We also provide training on how to make meals using breadfruit. In the photo above a women is learning how to make breadfruit breads using breadfruit flour.

See Recipes to learn about all of our delicious breadfruit recipes!

FAQs

How does planting a tree help feed people?

As fruit trees mature, they provide a reliable source of nutritious food that families can eat, share, or sell. Breadfruit trees alone can produce hundreds of pounds of food each year.

What makes breadfruit nutritious?

Breadfruit is packed with important nutrients, including fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and complex carbohydrates that provide lasting energy. It is naturally gluten free and can be incorporated into a wide variety of meals and recipes. Learn more about the nutritional benefits of breadfruit.

Do you provide meals directly?

Our focus is helping communities grow and access their own nutritious food through fruit trees, agricultural training, and local food systems. This creates sustainable benefits that can last for generations. We estimate that trees donated by Trees That Feed Foundation have produced 400,000,000 meals.

How are breadfruit trees used in school feeding programs?

Trees That Feed Foundation purchases breadfruit flour and breadfruit-based products from local processors and bakeries, then donates them to schools. Students enjoy familiar foods such as porridge, dumplings and nutritional biscuits while supporting local farmers and food businesses.