Johnson Kiragu, regional program director - East Africa at Partners in Food Solutions and Sarah Moberg, director of ITQ integrated operations at General Mills, joined the PFS mentoring program in November 2019 with hopes of developing a deeper global understanding, learning some new skills and fostering a new connection. What they didn’t anticipate was having to navigate a pandemic that spanned continents and impacted them both professionally and personally.

Luckily, Johnson and Sarah were able to use each other as a resource and sounding board in addressing COVID-19 related challenges they’ve encountered. “Earlier this year when COVID 19 first hit Kenya, I got a lot of helpful information and tools from Sarah that I shared with our clients to help them improve their safety and the safety of their staff,” said Johnson “Additionally, Sarah has helped me develop some best practices in leadership so I can become better at what I do, and be a greater resource for my clients during these unprecedented times.” Similarly, Sarah said that through her conversations with Johnson she has been able to expand her perspective. “I love that mentorship is a two-way relationship,” she said. “Learning flows in both directions and I’ve gained a trusted advisor in Johnson. That relationship will remain past the end of the mentorship program.”

Want to join the PFS mentorship program? We're looking for interested canidates who would like to mentor a PFS stakeholder and help guide them, while building skills in virtual coaching, entrepreneurial mindset, and cross-cultural competencies. Spend ~1-3 hours per month for one year serving as a PFS mentor. Contact [email protected] for more information.

With a lifelong passion for international nutrition and more than two decades of experience in the food technology space, Erika joins the PFS leadership team as the Senior Director of Client and Technical Services. “I am extremely motivated to be a part of an organization that is directly focused on the goal of strengthening food security, improving nutrition, and increasing economic development in Africa by leveraging food science, and other disciplines, to better the food value chain,” she said. However, this is not Erika’s first time being involved with our organization. She first joined PFS as one of our earliest volunteers in 2009. Back then, she led various projects for clients in Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire so she already knows a lot about how PFS works.

In her most recent role at General Mills, Erika led an international team as the Technology and Process Applications Director for the Global Dairy Business Unit in Vienne, France. She was responsible for technical strategy development and execution for General Mills’ global yogurt and ice cream brands. Her vast technical experience in the food industry makes her a valuable addition to our team and resource for our clients.

When Erika is not learning about the latest food technology trends, you can find her biking, hiking, golfing, and, most of all, traveling internationally with her husband, Mike. Some of her favorite travel experiences include bungee jumping in New Zealand, making spring rolls in Vietnam and hut-to-hut hiking in the Italian Dolomites.

MINNEAPOLIS (July 2020) – Partners in Food Solutions, a consortium of world-class food industry companies – General Mills, Cargill, Bühler, DSM, The Hershey Company and Ardent Mills – working together to address food security, nutrition and economic development across Africa has announced that The J. M. Smucker Company has become the organization’s newest corporate partner. For over a decade, Partners in Food Solutions has connected highly skilled volunteers from its corporate partners with entrepreneurial food companies in Africa to help strengthen their businesses. Volunteers have contributed more than 100,000 pro-bono consulting hours. With the addition of Smucker, Partners in Food Solutions partner companies represent over 800 years of food industry knowledge and experience. 

As the population of Africa is expected to double by 2050, ensuring communities have access to an adequate supply of safe, nutritious and affordable food is more important than ever. Through a remote, virtual consulting model, pioneered by Partners in Food Solutions and recognized by political and development leaders around the world, volunteers from Smucker will have the opportunity to support African food businesses by sharing their technical and business expertise. 

The partnership is the latest example of how the Company brings its commitment to thrive together with all of those impacted by its business to life. 

“As a food Company, we are passionate about ensuring global food security and are thrilled to support Partners in Food Solutions and its groundbreaking efforts to aid African communities in this area,” said Tamara Fynan, Executive Director, Community Engagement and Philanthropy, The J. M. Smucker Company. “The unique opportunity to engage our employees and leverage their technical and business expertise to make a meaningful impact is especially exciting. Our employees share in our passion to make a positive difference in the world and will be eager to lend their support to this great cause.” 

The timing of this new partnership could not be more appropriate. “The J.M. Smucker Company is a trusted food producer with a talented workforce who are committed to doing good in the world. They bring new expertise and capacity that will help us go even further in supporting a critical link in the African food value chain - local processors - to improve food security across the continent,” said Partners in Food Solutions CEO Jeff Dykstra. “COVID-19 has the potential to have a long-term impact on Africa's food system in ways that are unimaginable. Our volunteers are helping our clients address current challenges so they can become stronger and more resilient. The J.M. Smucker Company has a long history of creating successful brands and being able to utilize their expertise and experience will be invaluable for many of our clients right now.” 

Partners in Food Solutions has a network of more than 1,200 expert volunteers who have shared their technical and business knowledge with over 1,500 clients. With the addition of Smucker, Partners in Food Solutions will be able to tap into its 7,000+ employees and provide even greater support to its African clients. 

About Partners in Food Solutions Partners in Food Solutions, an independent nonprofit organization, works to increase the growth and competitiveness of food companies in Africa and beyond. Our goal is to improve access to safe, nutritious, affordable food and promote sustainable economic development across food value chains. We do this by inspiring business leaders and linking highly skilled corporate volunteers from our consortium of leading companies with promising entrepreneurs and other influencers of the food ecosystem. To learn more about Partners in Food Solutions, please visit partnersinfoodsolutions.com. 

About The J. M. Smucker Company Inspired by more than 120 years of business success and five generations of family leadership, The J. M. Smucker Company makes food that people and pets love. The Company's portfolio of 40+ brands, which are found in 90 percent of U.S. homes and countless restaurants, include iconic products consumers have always loved such as Folgers®, Jif® and Milk-Bone® plus new favorites like Café Bustelo®, Smucker's® Uncrustables® and Rachael Ray® Nutrish®. Over the past two decades, the Company has grown rapidly by thoughtfully acquiring leading and emerging brands, while ensuring the business has a positive impact on its 7,000+ employees, the communities it is a part of and the planet. For more information about The J. M. Smucker Company, visit jmsmucker.com. 

Yu “Chloe” Jiang, who was born and raised in China, has always been interested in food safety, even from an early age. “I remember as a young child learning about food safety scandals that occurred around the globe and being shocked by the people and companies that allowed them to happen,” Chloe said. “Honesty and honor are a couple of my core values and I am proud to work for a company that creates ingredients with integrity and lives out its values of serving people and trust.”

As a manager in the baking lab at Ardent Mills, Chloe is responsible for ensuring raw materials such as flour meets company and food safety standards. Chloe’s unique combination of technical food safety knowledge and ability to speak both Mandarin and English made her the perfect volunteer to help Barri Food Complex, a client that is supported by the partnership between TechnoServe, USAID, and PFS, translate equipment manuals for their grain processing plant in Ethiopia.

“Before Chloe, we were just troubleshooting the equipment. We didn’t have any [equipment] procedures in place,” said Anteneh Tesfaye, managing director of Barri Food Complex. “We could not find someone in our area who was able to translate our equipment manuals who also had a technical background,” Anteneh said, “having Chloe help translate our equipment manuals for us was very useful.” Now that the manuals have been translated to English, Barri Food Complex staff are able to use the equipment well and develop procedures that meet their local food safety standards.

Chloe explained that translating manuals for a grain processing plant in Ethiopia didn’t come without some unique challenges. “The type of maize flour in Ethiopia is very different from its counterpart in North America. I found that the term for cornmeal is not well defined in the US and the difference between corn flour and cornmeal can sometimes be confusing. When Barri Food Complex sent me a sample of their corn flour I noticed that it’s very fine and looks like the refined wheat flour you would find in the US. Through this experience, I learned not to assume anything. Especially when dealing with a food product from a different region and culture.”

For many volunteers, Partners in Food Solutions is an opportunity to learn new things – both professionally and personally. Chloe said, “Joining PFS was an opportunity that allowed me to use my technical knowledge to positively impact food safety and quality around the world. Not only did this experience enrich my knowledge about food, but it also taught me about food application and processing at the manufacturer.”