Frequently Asked Questions

About Future Fortified

What is Future Fortified?

Future Fortified is a campaign to help millions of women and children around the world gain access to the essential nutrients they need to lead healthy and enriched lives. Future Fortified is working to build a community for global nutrition— providing an easy way for individuals, businesses and organizations to get involved in improving nutrition for women and children around the world.

Who is GAIN?

The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is an international organization driven by a vision of a world without malnutrition. GAIN supports public-private partnerships to increase access to the essential nutrients that help make people, communities and economies stronger and healthier. With a current reach of more than 500 million people in more than 30 countries, GAIN’s goal is to improve the lives of one billion people within the most vulnerable populations around the world through access to sustainable nutrition solutions.

Why did GAIN launch Future Fortified?

GAIN launched the Future Fortified campaign to raise awareness of the importance of nutrition, particularly for pregnant women, new mothers and young children in the 1,000-day window from pregnancy through a child’s second year of life, and to provide a platform for individuals, businesses and organizations to get involved in improving nutrition for women and children around the world. Future Fortified seeks to mobilize a mass community of supporters for global nutrition in order to build and sustain public and political will for the issue.

What is the campaign’s goal?

Future Fortified has several key goals. These include:

• Increase access to improved nutrition for 50 million women and children by 2015.
• Build a public constituency for global nutrition.
• Raise nutrition on the global development agenda and garner support for proven nutrition solutions.

How will Future Fortified reach this goal?

Future Fortified’s work is powered by the actions of individual supporters and partners who together invest in sustainable, market-based solutions for global nutrition; inform themselves and others about nutrition challenges and solutions; and influence policymakers to make improved nutrition a global priority.

About Nutrition

Why does nutrition matter in global development?

Essential nutrients – including vitamins, minerals, essential fats and amino acids — are necessary for
people to grow and thrive. Nutrition is considered one of the best investments in global health and development because it is fundamental – as a basic building block – to all other efforts. From maternal health to early childhood development to education to poverty alleviation – nutrition plays an important role in advancing our progress on all our global health and development goals.

Why are so many people undernourished?

The best way to get essential nutrients is through a well-balanced, diverse diet. Yet 2 billion people around the world do not have access to a diverse diet and rely on staple foods such as rice, wheat and maize, which in and of themselves have low nutritional value. As a result, individuals, communities and societies are undernourished, lacking the critical nutrients they need to lead healthy lives. High rates of infectious disease leave people undernourished as well.

Why are the 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child’s 2nd birthday so important?

Ensuring good nutrition for pregnant women, new mothers and young children during the 1,000-day period from pregnancy to their second year of life puts children on the right track to reach their full potential. Recent studies have confirmed that good nutrition is essential for brain development and physical growth during this timeframe—and the damage sustained from poor nutrition is irreversible.

How do you improve nutrition?

There are a number of approaches to improve nutrition, particularly in the 1,000-day window, including:

• The promotion of good nutrition practices, including breastfeeding and the introduction of highly nutritious baby foods after six months.
• Increased consumption of essential nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, through fortification of staple foods (such as wheat and oil).
• The proper treatment of moderate and severe malnutrition with highly nutritious products.

 

Future Fortified focuses on home nutrition packets because they are a proven, cost-effective means for families to prevent malnutrition by simply sprinkling the small, single-serving packets filled with nutrients onto foods prepared in the home. This approach enables women and young children to get the high concentration of critical nutrients they need while eating local foods.

What is the difference between hunger and nutrition?

Malnutrition – the state of being poorly nourished – is not merely a result of too little food, but of a combination of factors:

• Insufficient protein, energy and micronutrients.
• Frequent infections or disease.
• Poor care and feeding practices.
• Inadequate health services and unsafe water and sanitation.

 

Currently, there are 1 billion people worldwide who are hungry and 2 billion people who are undernourished.

What is the difference between undernutrition and malnutrition?

Undernutrition is one form of malnutrition. Undernutrition results from a deficiency of energy or nutrients. Malnutrition represents an imbalance, either a deficiency or an excess, in your intake of nutrients and other elements needed for good health.

Is there a connection between obesity and nutrition?

At the other end of the malnutrition spectrum from undernutrition, obesity is one of today’s most blatantly visible – yet neglected – public health problems. Paradoxically coexisting with undernutrition, an escalating global epidemic of overweight and obesity – “globesity” – is taking over many parts of the world. Recent research suggests that undernutrition during the 1,000-day window from pregnancy to age two makes children more susceptible to later complications of heart disease and obesity.

Nutrition is a big challenge in the U.S., why isn't Future Fortified doing something here?

Nutrition is a global challenge and one that every nation must address. As a part of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, Future Fortified is currently focused only on undernutrition in the 36 high-burden countries, which does not include the United States. There are many organizations working to improve nutrition in the U.S. and we are actively looking for opportunities to work with such organizations.

About Home Nutrition Packets

What are Home Nutrition Packets?

Home nutrition packets are a proven, cost-effective way for mothers around the world to get essential nutrients into their children’s and their own diets. These small packets are filled with vitamins and minerals and are simply sprinkled onto a child’s meal a few times a week.

What nutrients are put in these packets?

Different countries have different formulations according to their individual needs. While the composition varies, packets typically contain a combination of up to 15 micronutrients, including vitamin A, iodine, iron, zinc and folic acid. Newer types of home nutrition packets include essential macronutrients as well, such as essential fats and amino acids, which are necessary for proper growth.

How do home nutrition packets work to improve nutrition?

Home nutrition packets can simply be sprinkled onto local foods made in the home, expanding access to nutrition to the hardest-to-reach, low-income families. These small, single-serving packets filled with a combination of nutrients are an innovative, effective and affordable way to deliver essential nutrients into children’s diets.

How are home nutrition packets made?

There are a number of different producers of home nutrition packets, from global companies such as DSM to local companies such as Renata in Bangladesh. Based on the nutritional deficiencies in a specific geography or market, vitamins and minerals are blended and packaged in a 1 gram packet. Foil is used on the inside of the packet to ensure stability of the product.

How are home nutrition packets distributed?

The way in which home nutrition packets are made available is specific to the country and partners involved. In western Kenya for example, home nutrition packets have been made available at just US $.03 per packet as a part of an integrated health promotion program. Local businesswomen were able to sell the home nutrition products door-to-door, along with other health products such as soap and mosquito nets. In Bangladesh, home nutrition packets are made available at pharmacies and kiosks and are affordable to low-income consumers. Critical to the increased access to the product is the need for increased awareness; as such, education and social marketing efforts are aligned to ensure communities know about the importance of improved nutrition and how home nutrition products are used.

Does Future Fortified focus on other solutions aside from packets?

Currently, Future Fortifed is focused on increasing availability and access to improved nutrition through home nutrition packets. GAIN is focused on a variety of nutrition related interventions. Learn more about GAIN’s work. 

GAIN's Sustainable Approach

What is a market-based approach?

Market-based approaches are increasingly viewed as a critical component to tackling the challenge of undernutrition. Given that even low-income families purchase some portion of what they eat, improving nutrition sustainably means that the private sector – from farmers to traders to processors and small manufacturers to retailers, among others – are the engine for delivering better nutrition. Leveraging markets to deliver better nutrition through increased supply and demand is an important strategy to reach the 2 billion people around the world who are undernourished.

Why choose a market-based approach versus giving products away for free?

With more than 2 billion people around the world undernourished, it is vital that we find new ways to tackle this global challenge. By leveraging both consumer markets and public distribution of products, we will start to reach impact at scale. As home nutrition packets can cost as little as 3 cents each, they are affordable to many low-income families, enabling them to continue to eat local foods rather than replacing them with new ones. As more families use the packets and news of their effectiveness and availability continues to grow, local manufacturing will expand, creating new jobs, boosting entrepreneurial opportunities and creating a sustainable business model.

Do people profit from making and selling nutrition packets?

Future Fortified is a public campaign and does not profit in any way on the production or selling of home nutrition packets. Future Fortified and GAIN work with partners, including businesses and nonprofits, to ensure increased availability and access to improved nutrition. As profit margins are so low on home nutrition packets, businesses typically reinvest revenue into the business model, ensuring improved nutrition is available over the long-term.

How to Get Involved

How can I support Future Fortified?

There are many ways to get involved!

• Invest: Making an investment in improved nutrition is easy! Click here to make an investment.
• Inform: Connect with us and others on Facebook and Twitter to be part of an active community. Join us on Facebook and on Twitter: @futurefortified
• Influence: Join thousands of others to influence policy makers to put nutrition on the global political agenda. Learn more here.

How do I know my support has made an impact?

Ensuring you know where your funds go is critical. Future Fortified goes beyond traditional philanthropy and utilizes donor support as investments to increase the supply and availability of home nutrition packets, as well as educating people on their use and the importance of proper nutrition. This approach leads to long-term, sustainable impact. As we move forward, we will keep you posted on results of our and our partners’ work through our website, videos and e-mails.

I would like to feature Future Fortified on my blog.

Great! Click here for more information.

I would like to host a fundraiser.

That’s awesome! Click here for more information. Or feel free to Contact Us with any questions.

How can I advocate for nutrition?

Future Fortified will provide opportunities at key moments throughout the year to influence your policy makers, letting them know that you are committed to improving nutrition around the world. Supporters can sign up to stay connected with us.

Why is advocacy important for nutrition?

Improving nutrition around the world will take a concerted, collaborative effort. Governments in particular have an important role to play. By engaging with our policy makers and advocating for a focus on improved nutrition globally, we aim to both increase targeted investments for nutrition, as well as ensure that nutrition is viewed as a cross-sector issue, impacting our progress on global health and development efforts from education to maternal health to poverty alleviation.

What does Future Fortified do to advocate for improved nutrition?

Working with partners – including the 1,000 Days partnership – Future Fortified is educating its supporters on the importance of improved nutrition globally, identifying new champions for the issue, providing supporters with opportunities to influence their policy makers and hosting events in Washington, D.C. and around the country, including congressional briefings, to educate our policy makers about the importance of improved nutrition, particularly during the 1,000-day window.

Who is supporting Future Fortified?

Future Fortified is made up of individuals, businesses and organizations coming together as a community of supporters for global nutrition. - Click here to see our partners - Click here to learn about our champions

How do I partner with Future Fortified?

Thank you for your interest in partnering with us! Please Contact Us and a member of our team will get right back to you.

Making a Donation

I would like to make an investment in Future Fortified. How do I do that?

It’s more than a donation - it’s an investment in global nutrition. Click here to invest!

Because my donation is used as an investment is in nutrition, is it still tax deductible?

Of course! Following your online contribution, you will receive a tax receipt. Be on the lookout for yours; tax receipt emails sometimes end up in junk mail folders. If you don’t get your tax receipt within one day, just Contact Us and we will make sure you’re taken care of. Please note that your contribution is being made to GAIN Americas, a U.S. Section 501(c)(3) public charity whose charitable mission includes supporting food fortification and nutrition programs in developing countries, including the Future Fortified program of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition.

Do I need a PayPal account to make a donation?

No, you do not need a PayPal account to make a donation. When you are directed to the PayPal portal to complete your donation transaction, you have an option to make a donation by credit card.

Can I make a contribution by check?

Unfortunately at this time we are only able to process donations made via credit card (or PayPal accounts). Please Contact Us if you have any questions about this policy or your donation.

How do I know my support has made an impact?

Ensuring you know where your funds go is critical. Future Fortified goes beyond traditional philanthropy and utilizes donor support as investments to increase the supply and availability of home nutrition packets, as well as educating people on their use and the importance of proper nutrition. This approach leads to long-term, sustainable impact. As we move forward, we will keep you posted on results of our and our partners’ work through our website, videos and e-mails. If you have a question, we’d love to talk to you. Please Contact Us.

How much of my support is going to the actual program, and how much goes to administrative expenses?

One hundred percent of your support goes to improving nutrition. Ninety percent of every donation goes to funding ‘on the ground’ programs in countries such as Kenya, Bangladesh or South Africa. The remaining 10 percent of your support is used to ensure Future Fortified can raise public awareness, mobilize communities and engage policy makers to make nutrition a global priority. This takes a dedicated team and we hope you take pride in knowing that your donation is building sustainability, both in key countries and in public and political commitment to improving nutrition.

About The Engage & Earn Program

What is the “Engage & Earn” program?

Every action you take is important to us and adds up to create change, whether it is sharing a link on Facebook or making a donation. It all matters. With the “Engage & Earn” Program, we can help you see how your actions add up, as well as those of the broader community of supporters. Whether you share, recruit or donate, your actions make an impact. Now they earn you points! Take Action. Earn Points. Get Rewarded. Your points enter you in a contest to win special thank you gifts. Over time, we hope to add lots of opportunities, including trips, discounts, merchandise and other unique opportunities.

Why am I earning points for taking action on FutureFortified.org?

Every action you take is important to us and add-up to create change, whether it is sharing a link on Facebook or making a donation. It all matters. With the Engage and Earn Program, we can help you see how your actions add up, as well as those of the broader community of supporters.

How do I register to earn points on FutureFortified.org?

Register here!

How do I earn points?

Whether you share, recruit or donate - your actions make an impact. Now they earn you points! Sign up to earn points for your actions. Take Action. Earn Points. Get Rewarded.

What can I do with my points?

Your points enter you in a contest to win special thank you gifts from Future Fortified. Over time, we hope to add lots of opportunities - trips, discounts, merchandise and other unique opportunities. Have an idea? Contact Us.

Can I combine my points with someone else?

You cannot combine or give points. But you can encourage your friends to sign up!

Do my points roll-over? Can I save my points?

Points do not roll-over. After the end of each contest, we reset the points to ensure new supporters can join in on the action.

Do my points have monetary value?

No. Points have no monetary value whatsoever.

I think I have earned points, but they are not showing up. Who do I contact?

We’re sorry to hear that! Contact Us and we’ll get you all sorted out.

About Shopping Fortified

Was my Paypal account double charged?

We apologize for the confusion, but it was most likely not double charged. We must first authorize the payment, then process the payment. Your account will only be charged once.

Who manufactures your products?

We appreciate your concern for ethical consumption. We use a variety of t-shirt suppliers, including BAGGU and American Apparel.

Do you ship orders outside of the United States?

Yes, we ship to most countries. Postage is calculated by the weight of the order and shipping address. During checkout, you will get an estimate for the total cost before placing the order.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We currently accept Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, and Paypal.

Can I return my order for a refund/exchange?

If you’re not happy with your product for any reason, we will try our very best to accommodate you. Please Contact Us.

Is my purchase tax deductible?

Although 100% of your purchase goes toward our programs, when a good is received for a purchase, it is not considered tax deductible. You can make a tax deductible donation here.

I am experiencing difficulty ordering through your online store...

The Future Fortified online store is often undergoing changes and updates. If you're having trouble, please try ordering through a different Internet browser (i.e. Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari). If that does not work, please Contact Us and we'll be glad to help.

Where is my order?

You’ll receive an e-mail confirmation when your order ships. A separate e-mail will be sent to you with a tracking number that you can use to check the delivery status. You can also stay updated on your order status by logging into your account through our online store. Domestic orders arrive within 5-7 business days, whereas international orders require 10-14 business days. If you have not received your order within the estimated arrival time, please Contact Us.