Edesia to Move Plumpy’Nut Lifesaving Food from Rhode Island to Israel to Gaza to Feed Children

“We persevered, yet again—this time with the help of some amazing new partnerships. No matter the obstacles, our mission at Edesia remains unchanged: to feed children in crisis.” And with that announcement, Navyn Salem announced a new initiative to move its lifesaving food, Plumpy’Nut to help the children in Gaza.

“On this World Humanitarian Day, we honor the courage and collaboration it takes to deliver hope in one of the hardest-to-reach places – Gaza. Delivering aid here comes with immense logistical challenges. Borders, blockages, and bureaucracy all stand in the way. But thanks to the determination of our team and the power of partnership, we are moving forward,” Salem’s announcement said.

The non-profit listed a Coalition of five partner agencies who will each focus on individual initiatives to create a successful chain from Rhode Island, where the food is produced, to transport and hand-delivering to reach the children and families most in need in Gaza.

The 5-member coalition:

• Edesia Nutrition produces life-saving foods
• Airlink provides free airlift services, transporting these shipments into the region.
• IsraAID manages logistics and coordination in Israel, and land transport from Tel Aviv airport to the Gaza border.
• Multifaith Alliance delivers aid directly to families in crisis in both the north and south of Gaza.
• The Children’s Village Gaza provides comprehensive care, education, nutrition, and protection to more than 600 orphans.

Edesia is raising $750,000 to reach 15,000 children, and reaches out to thank donors and partners who share their commitment, saying, “There are many crises we cannot solve. Malnutrition is not one of them.”

The plan to reach the children in Gaza is detailed in this graphic, along with a breakdown of the cost of the initiative to deliver Plumpy’Nut and Nutributter.

Edesia says the food is set to reach Gaza in approximately 6-7 weeks, early October – with the first plane going out next week and then following up with flights and containers by sea.

Children can recover from severe malnutrition in just 6–8 weeks of treatment with Plumpy’Nut. It doesn’t require refrigeration or clean water, making it ideal for war and disaster zones. International aid groups report that large numbers of children in Gaza face acute malnutrition due to food shortages and damaged infrastructure. Many are already at risk of wasting (dangerously low weight for height).

One shipment helps immediately, but malnutrition crises need repeated deliveries over months, with consistent access and distribution. Short-term life-saving nutrition could reach 5 to 10,000 children which could prevent worsening malnutrition.

We also asked about security protocols for making sure the food doesn’t get taken by the Hamas on its way to the children, which has been a constant problem in food shipping to Gaza in general. We also asked about airdrops as a delivery method. Salem responded that the boxes are being sent by plan to Israel, where it will be drive to Gaza. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) are protecting the sites, and “while I cannot guarantee anything, we have done our best to choose partners with valuable experience” – adding – “We are not involved in any airdrops – unsafe, too expensive and inhumane.”

We asked if the recent Ocean State Job initiative with 3-4 other partners involved in their initial effort to get stored product out the doors has continued beyond their initial shipment and Edesia responded that it has done that one transport at this time. New partners are involved in the Gaza effort.

Ocean State Job Lot is continuing by helping to raise funds for Edesia’s overall efforts. Customers can contribute at the registers as well as online:

Donate HERE: