'This article first appeared in the July issue of Whole Foods Magazine'

SINCE 1994. VITAMIN ANGELS HAVE
FOUGHT MALNUTRITION AROUND THE
WORLD WITH DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

On January 17, 1994, the greater Los Angeles area was shaken with a 6.7 magnitude earthquake that caused major freeways to crumble, office buildings to fall and homes to collapse. The Northridge earthquake, which killed 72 people and injured 9,000 more, had the highest ground acceleration ever recorded in a North American urban area. With scores of people lacking food and shelter, something needed to be done to help—fast.

Less than 48 hours later, three huge pallets of dietary supplements arrived on the scene from Howard B. Schiffer, a veteran of the natural products industry. Just over a decade after this first project was completed, Schiffer’s plan to provide nutrition through dietary supplements to those in need has blossomed into a nonprofit organization called the Vitamin Angels. Based in Santa Barbara, CA, the organization has brought millions of dietary supplements to needy individuals living in more than 80 countries.

To Schiffer, dietary supplements are a natural way to address some major global healthcare crises such as malnutrition, low birth weights and blindness in children caused by vitamin A deficiency. “There are so many problems today in the world and we say, how are we going to solve that? Where do we start? This is where you start,” says Schiffer. “Nutrition is a foundation strategy. Whatever other problem you’re dealing with—AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria—can’t be solved if you don’t have the nutrition component covered.”

The dietary supplements industry, he adds, has a very effective delivery system for addressing this problem. “You don’t always have the transportation or the storage for large supplies…but you can always load up somebody’s backpack with prenatal vitamins and children’s multiple vitamins.”

The 2006 World Bank Report, Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development, also suggests that supplements can make a huge difference to the health of those living in poverty: “Fortifying foods and providing vitamin and mineral supplements are inexpensive ways to address the widespread problem of micronutrient malnutrition. They can improve economic productivity and economic growth, enhance child and maternal survival, and improve mental development and intelligence in children.” Stresses Schiffer about dietary supplements, “The World Bank looked at everything and said, ‘No other technology offers as large an opportunity to improve lives at such a low cost and in such a short time.’The underlying issue that’s affecting every country, including our own, is malnutrition.”

PROGRAMS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Vitamin Angels was initially focused on collecting a variety of donations from the industry (such as monetary contributions, overstock supplies, discontinued merchandise and mislabeled items) and partnering with local groups to distribute dietary supplements to impoverished regions or those hit by destructive natural disasters. Now, however, the group is making changes to the central focus of the group by centering on longer-term, program-based initiatives. What this means for donor companies or “Corporate Angels” is a stronger, more regular commitment to Vitamin Angels.

“Those companies are the ones signed up for ongoing support and planned production . . . That’s really where our growth is,” says Schiffer. The idea behind the change is to make a more widespread, more significant difference. By donating a certain product every month for three years, for example, Vitamin Angels can better address the long-term needs of a community suffering from malnutrition.

“It’s been a challenge to make the transfer, but it’s been a good challenge,” says Schiffer. The group is appreciative of any donation, but its goal is for companies to make multi-year commitments to donate product. “We really want people to see the same opportunity that we see—not just see us as a tax write-off. We want them to really see us as something they can weave into the culture of the organization . . . We want the people working on the supplements and working on the line to know that part of what they’re making is going to help give basic nutrition to kids in Honduras or people in a sales meeting to know that part of the prenatals that they’re selling are also going to help stop hemorrhaging in Bali.”

Operation 20/20. Each year, 100–140 million children are affected by vitamin Adeficiency and of these, 250,000–500,000 will go blind. Approximately half of these children will die within a year of going blind because of associated infections and diseases, resulting in a huge effect on their communities.

“That’s the tragedy with blindness in particular. It not only affects the child, but also the family and the whole community,” Schiffer says. “Once a child goes blind and the damage is irreversible, everybody has to deal with it. The child’s life is forever changed, as are the lives of the parents and the community. Everyone has to adjust.”

Avoiding this atrocity is simpler than many would guess. In fact, more than 75% of all blindness is completely preventable if children take two high-dose vitamin A tablets for four years (which costs just 25 cents per child per year). “To quantify that is hard to fathom,” says Schiffer. “Vitamin A will eliminate blindness and increase their chance of survival by 25%, which is very, very significant.”

For this reason, Vitamin Angels launched the Operation 20/20 campaign in March 2006 with the ambitious goal of eradicating childhood blindness caused by vitamin Adeficiency worldwide before the year 2020. “This year we’re going to reach over 4.5 million children around the world in 18 countries,” notes Schiffer. Vitamin Angels also distributes anti-parasitics in conjunction with the vitamin Asupplements to improve vitamin A absorption and increase the children’s nutritional profile.

The overall effect on the local healthcare systems is noteworthy: vitamin A campaigns reduce clinic visits by 27% and hospital visits by 38%, according to Schiffer.

He also notes that, if the children receive the vitamin A tablets early enough, the blindness can be reversed. “Kids come into these clinics that are getting night blindness, which is the first sign of vitamin A deficiency. And within 1–3 days of taking the supplement, they leave the clinic without this happening. It’s completely reversible,” Schiffer says.

Maternal and Child Health. Malnutrition among pregnant women has staggering consequences. According to Vitamin Angels, nearly one in 20 women die each year in childbirth or during pregnancy because of nutrition- related complications. In addition, millions of babies are born with low birth weights (less that 5.5 lbs) each year. Underweight infants are more likely to die because they are not as resilient to disease and infection as heavier babies.

As part of one of its longest-running programs, Vitamin Angels has distributed prenatal vitamins to expecting mothers in Asia, Africa and Central America by partnering with physicians, nurses, midwives, and facility or program administrators. According to Schiffer, the results have been tremendous. “When you give them prenatal vitamins, you start to see 7-lb babies, which is a nice healthy baby.” In addition, the maternal health program has also resulted in fewer women hemorrhaging at childbirth.

Children Malnutrition. The children’s nutrition campaign is another core Vitamin Angels program. Many children consume just 400–500 calories per day, which often is just two bowls of rice. Says Schiffer, “Children that are chronically malnourished are vulnerable to all sorts of health problems because they simply don’t have enough nutrition in their bodies.” Children receiving the multivitamins, says Schiffer, are better equipped to lead healthier lives. In a very visible display of the program’s success, he notes that children receiving the multivitamins tend to grow taller than those who don’t because stunting is a sign of chronic malnourishment. “Sometimes you can see a difference when you compare different generations,” he says.

Projects on the Horizon. When asked what we can expect to see Vitamin Angels tackle in the next few years, Schiffer noted that the Operation 20/20 program is going to expand dramatically over the next few years. “We’re going to reach over 7 million children this year and it will go up quite a bit in 2008 and 2009,” he said. Schiffer also noted that Vitamin Angels’ domestic presence will increase dramatically over the next few years. The group presently distributes dietary supplements in the United States through food banks, senior citizen centers, hospices, AIDS clinics and other such groups. “We’re really going to do a big expansion in this country in 2007–2008 and forward,” he noted.

HOW CAN A RETAILER HELP?

Retailers who want to contribute to the Vitamin Angels can help out in several ways.

• Organize a 5% or 10% off day in which consumers can either choose to save 5% off their bills or donate the 5% to Vitamin Angels. Jimbos…Naturally of San Diego, CA, recently held such a sale in their four locations and collected more than $10,000 for the organization.

• Initiate a 25 cents campaign in their stores. For example, a store can advertise that for every unit of a private label, of certain brands or of vitamin A and children’s multivitamin that is sold, 25 cents—the amount it costs to save a child from going blind—will be donated to Vitamin Angels. Last year, Wild Oats raised $65,000 for the organization with a 25 cents campaign in its stores. “It’s simple and very easy to measure. And, it’s easy to communicate to the customer,” notes Schiffer.

• Participate in a Retailer Social Change program. “This one’s innovative in a few ways because it gives the store a chance to reinforce that vitamins really do work to customers before they leave the store,” says Schiffer. “You have the chance to involve the employee and the customer in something that’s positive that they will feel good about. And, you have the chance to show that the store has a big heart and a broad focus.” When a customer checks out, employees can ask them to donate their change to Vitamin Angels as well as tell them that 25 cents can save a child from going blind. Notes Schiffer, “By telling this to customers, you’ve just overcome all the objections about supplements really working . . . That’s what Vitamin Angels message is. This industry can play a really vital part in helping to solve a global health problem.” WF

VITAMIN ANGELS QUICK FACTS

Name: Vitamin Angels

Mission: To provide vital nutrition to children in need.

Year Founded: 1994

Founder: Howard B. Schiffer

Total Number of Contributing Companies Since the Group Was Founded: More than 100 Number of

Monthly Donors: Approximately 10–20

Number of Employees: Five full-time staff members, three interns, 20–30 regular volunteers

Number of Countries Served: More than 80 total. At least 40 countries are served each year.

Amount of Goods Donated: In 2006, Vitamin Angels distributed more than 100 million supplements to children in need in more than 40 countries.

Number of Children Reached: This year, Vitamin Angels will reach approximately 7 million children.

Types of Projects it Tackles:
• Vitamin A deficiency childhood blindness.
• Children’s nutrition campaigns.
• Maternal health projects.
• Disaster relief.
• Custom programs for corporations.

How to Donate: Vitamin Angels needs financial contributions and product donations. Donate online (www.VitaminAngels. org) or send your contribution to: Vitamin Angels, P.O. Box 42029, Santa Barbara, CA 93140.