Located in Lusaka, Jesuit Development Farm (JDF) grows various organic vegetables like lettuce, onions, garlic and herbs such as moringa. Moringa, a plant rich in antioxidants and known for its purported medicinal properties, can be an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals. To meet the increased demand for the plant, JDF looked to Partners in Food Solutions for help with increasing their capacity and identifying inefficiencies in their solar tunnel drying system. “In our local community, we do not always have access to experts with the experience PFS volunteers have,” said Father Tadeusz, managing director of JDF. “The support of PFS and its volunteers helps us avoid many problems.”
Will Suhring, a process engineer at Hershey with experience in developing, installing and activating new equipment and processing systems, offered to help JDF and share his knowledge in this area. “One of my favorite aspects of PFS is that it connects creative, entrepreneurial people from all across the world to collaborate on projects which are of benefit to everyone involved,” said Will. “I enjoy the creative problem solving aspect of the project due to working under different constraints than projects in my corporate role. It’s also great knowing that successful projects bring jobs, better food security, and many other benefits to the clients and their communities.”
After reviewing feedback from JDF about what they liked and didn’t like about their existing drying system, Will and the project team came up with several modifications that would improve their efficiency. “We suggested adding vents at each end of the tunnel to encourage air flow and remove moisture because it would be a meaningful improvement to their drying process and fit within their local materials and building constraints. We also suggested that they include plenty of room for handwashing stations and captive shoe storage, along with tables to hold wash basins at a comfortable height, because that would improve food safety and quality, and make the operation more comfortable and efficient for the workers.”
JDF plans to utilize the volunteer’s recommendations to improve their current solar tunnel drying system and to help construct their new dryer. “I really enjoy our interactions with PFS volunteers,” said Fr. Tadeusz. “During the process of developing a new solar tunnel model I learned more about food safety, efficient drying processes and how to better utilize the available space. I am grateful for everyone involved in this project and for their commitment and support of my efforts.”
Kris Zamora is an in-house creative at Hershey and spends his days supporting internal teams by developing content from animated advertisements to conceptualizing new product ideas. Motivated by his desire to make a greater impact, Kris joined a brand design project with Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) client Rut & Hirut that allowed him to learn new skills and give back in a meaningful way. Rut & Hirut is a women-owned dairy processing company located outside Addis Ababa that produces various products including pasteurized milk, yogurt, cheese and butter. The company was established with the goal of improving the livelihoods of farmers, and has supported hundreds of female dairy farmers over the years. “All the work that was done with this volunteer project not only benefits the business owners, but also the broader community,” Kris said. “Knowing my work made a difference for someone else’s life directly is all that I could ever ask for.”
In collaboration with PFS, TechnoServe and USAID, Kris worked on creating an effective design strategy that would allow Rut & Hirut to penetrate the bottom of the pyramid market and increase sales. “I can’t speak Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia) nor can I read or write it,” said Kris. “Working on the packaging design for this project did require a little bit of patience on my end given there was a quick learning curve.” This project not only pushed Kris outside his comfort zone, but allowed him to build upon his communication and cross-cultural competencies. “When I was working on the logo rebrand, part of the logo had a small heart shape icon in it. I had to ask myself ‘Is a heart shape universally recognizable? Does a heart shape mean something different in other cultures?’ This is something I normally do not need to consider in my day job and is something that I believe will make me a better overall designer and creative.”
Kris’ favorite part of the project was during the packaging design concept phase for Rut & Hirut’s milk products. Initially, Rut & Hirut chose the design concept that most closely reflected their current brand look. Before making any final decisions, Rut & Hirut decided to go out into the community and share the design concepts with the locals to see which designs they liked the most. “I thought this was a smart and strategic decision by Rut & Hirut to get the local community’s input on the design,” said Kris. “Ultimately, after receiving feedback from locals, Rut & Hirut decided to go with the bolder packaging design concept. This look was more aligned with what their current and future consumers wanted and brought some valuable insights into our packaging design project.” Since the project closed last year, the product in its new packaging design has entered the market. Rut & Hirut have reported that consumers are finding the improved packaging to be very attractive.
*The Alliance for Inclusive and Nutritious Food Processing (AINFP) is helping unlock the potential of the food processing sector by providing technical assistance and sector-wide training to food processors in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia. AINFP is co-funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and by Partners in Food Solutions, through private funding and in-kind contributions of employee time from its corporate partners. TechnoServe is leading project implementation on the ground.
Carol Jeffrey-Smith has been a volunteer with PFS since 2016 and has been involved in six volunteer activities. She also serves as a PFS champion and is a valuable part of the Hershey-PFS partnership.
PFS: Please tell us more about yourself.
CJS: I have worked in Information Services at Hershey for nine years in both Canada & the US. I have been a long-time volunteer at PFS, mostly as a Client Lead. I enjoy bringing together volunteers and clients to complete specific projects. I have been very fortunate to work with five different clients in this role. I have learned so much from all the fantastic people involved in PFS projects and it has been an amazing experience!
PFS: What is your main motivation for volunteering with PFS?
CJS: My main motivation for volunteering with PFS is the opportunity to meet new people, learn from other volunteers and watch the clients grow through this experience.
PFS: You’ve taken on several Client Lead roles throughout the years, what’s your favorite part about being a Client Lead?
CJS: The client’s energy and dedication to growing their business while managing a busy operation. It is a real privilege to share in the client’s journey. I am currently the Client Lead for Assisi Foods in Ghana and their leaders have demonstrated terrific focus and initiative in achieving key goals. They have a clear vision for Assisi Foods and I am delighted at the opportunity to make a small contribution towards their continued success.
PFS: How does it make you feel knowing Hershey has this volunteer opportunity for its employees?
CJS: Proud. As a company, Hershey is committed to supporting volunteer initiatives that create real value and have a tangible impact. I am very happy to be part of an organization that “walks the walk and talks the talk.”
Partners in Food Solutions releases a new white paper documenting how we built our virtual, skills-based volunteering program. Through twelve years of innovation and growth, we have honed our program to bring maximum impact for both our African food company clients and volunteer experts. Read our report to find out more.
The national dish of Nigeria, Jollof Rice, is a spicy staple food served around the country and gets its signature bright red color from tomatoes. The country is now the second largest producer of fresh tomatoes in Africa. Yet despite that, it is also one of the world’s largest importers of tomato paste. In an effort to strengthen domestic markets for tomato growers, Tomato Jos, a tomato farm based in northern Nigeria, wanted to expand their operations and start making their own tomato paste. Given that this was uncharted territory for the company and their team, they looked to Partners in Food Solutions (PFS) for support in the areas of warehouse space design, staffing, process optimization, and packaging design.
DSM’s Florian Jardin took on the project manager “Client Lead” role for all of these projects with Tomato Jos. “I was drawn to helping them because of the social impact I could directly have,” said Florian. “I want to use my strengths to support start-ups with a great purpose and PFS let me do that with Tomato Jos this past year.” Florian, a global category manager at DSM, used his skills and expertise to not only make sure projects moved along in a timely manner, he also shared business and distribution strategy recommendations with the client CEO. “Initially I was a bit afraid to fail and let the client down, but after the first call I had a great feeling because I knew the volunteer team and I could bring real value to the client and help them reach their goals.”
Within weeks the volunteer project team was able to develop an efficient warehouse design plan that addressed gaps in Tomato Jos’ storage systems, which could now lead to significant cost savings. Volunteers were also able to recreate packaging design files that suited the client’s needs.
“Our experience working with PFS has been very positive,” said Francis Bulus, processing project manager for Tomato Jos. “Considering the fact that our core business objectives for the year revolve around setting up the factory and running it efficiently, the ongoing support from the PFS team, which has helped push a lot of that forward, has been invaluable. It’s to the point that it’s had a ripple effect on the company as a whole because a lot of the decisions constructed by the support from the team translated into smart business decisions across other business units.”