EquipmentWatch a video of the manufacturing process at the Meds & Food for Kids facility in Haiti. A typical manufacturing facility might have some or all of the following equipment:
TFP helps our partners locate, evaluate and procure equipment locally as much as possible. If not available locally, TFP can help procure and ship equipment as required. Peanut ShellerThe sheller is used to remove the shell from dried peanuts before roasting. It is turned by a hand crank. Peanuts are poured into the top of the sheller. As the nuts are funneled down, the shells crack, freeing the peanuts. Broken shells and whole peanuts fall through to the bottom into a container placed beneath the sheller. The broken shells are then removed by a winnowing process. The peanut sheller is made of concrete using a set of molds with steel parts embedded. Any number of shellers can be made in the field with cement procurred locally. The steel parts can be obtained through TFP or made by a local metal worker/welder.
Peanut Sheller/WinnowerA winnower, fabricated from an ordinary steel drum, can be mounted underneath the sheller. The peanuts and shell fragments fall from the sheller into the winnower where they tumble through a blast of air. The lighter shell fragments are blown to the side while the peanuts fall into a container. The combination of peanut sheller and winnower can be pedal-powered or powered by a small electric motor. Grinder
The basic grinder, used to mix the therapeutic food, has either a cast aluminum or stainless steel housing. It can be hand-cranked or motorized. TFP has designed a simple table upon which the hand cranked grinder or the electric motor version can be mounted. The table breaks down completely for shipping. The stainless steel unit incorporates a larger hopper to enable greater productivity.
MixerSmall batches of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) may be mixed by hand in a large basin. Tumble Drum When very large batches are required, a Tumble Drum or a planetary mixer may be used to speed the mixing process. The Tumble Drum consists of a drum with a shaft running through at an angle to the axis of the drum. As it turns around the shaft, the drum tumbles on all axes. Motorized versions have a counter-rotating impeller inside that greatly increases the mixing ability.
Our partners in Mumbai are using a commercial grade planetary mixer that was procured locally to mix the Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) which is similiar to RUTF. Toddler Food Partners can also provide simpler hand operated mixing devices or assist in procuring small to medium sized commercial mixers if required.
Filling MachineMany types of filling machines are available commercially. Here are two examples that TFP has procured for our partners. Volumetric Filler
Our partner in Mumbai, Sion Hospital, has obtained a semi-automatic filling machine. This was built by a local Mumbai manufacturer. It has a six station carrosel. The cups are hand located and removed. The stations do the following in order: Dispense product into cup Place foil lid on cup Seal the lid Stamp date and code onto top The machine works very well and was procured locally with manufacturer's support readily available. |
The Tumble Drum is a very efficient industrial mixer that can be sized and manufactured to order.
Planetary Mixer
A small manufacturing company in southern Minnesota has developed a very efficient volumetric filling machine. It operates completely on compressed air and dispenses an accurate volume of product each time the machine cycles. The operator uses a foot pedal to dispense the measured volume into a container. TFP can help our partner procure an appropriately sized volumetric filler.
Semi-automatic Filler
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In the News
March 2013
Article Added in Resources
In February, a workshop was held at the YMC campus outside of Mumbai. The object was to make rural Self Help Groups (SHGs) aware of nutrition rich food products that can act as dietary supplements. This workshop was a direct result of the work the Dr. Shiv Murty and Director Larry Carpenter did on their recent trip to Mumbai. A report and summary of the meetings is available on our resources page. (Menu::OurWork:: Resources)
January 2013
Article Added in Resources
An article from the NY Times, September 2010, was added to the Resource page. It discusses RUTF, Nutriset, Plumpy'Nut and issues surrounding them, specifically Haiti. (Menu::Our Work::Resources)
December 2012
Recent Accomplishments in Mumbai
A summary of accomplishments from the recent trip to Mumbai by Larry Carpenter and Dr. Shivram Murty can be found through the menu above under "Projects::Recent Activities".
TFP Directors Return from Mumbai
Executive Director, Larry Carpenter, returned from a successful trip to Mumbai in early December. Board Director, Dr. Shiv Murty, remained in India and will return shortly before Christmas. For both, it was a whilrwind trip whith meetings scheduled nearly every day of their 18 day trip.
MNT Treatment Accepted by IAC
The SAM Management Guidelines of the Indian Academy of Pediatricians (IAP) have gone through a process of critical appraisal and updating since they were first formulated in 2010. These are now accepted by IAP as official guidelines on SAM management. This is an acknowledgment by the IAP that using Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) for treating Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is the recommended protocol. This is a big step in getting MNT treatment accepted generally in India. Click here to read the statement by the IAP.
November 2012
Visit to our partners in Mumbai
On 25 November, board members Shivram Murty and Larry Carpenter depart for Mumbai. They will have a busy schedule meeting with some of our partners, CTARA, Sion Hospital and others. At Sion they will work with the expanded production facility and the new equipment that was recently installed. They will also travel to Nagpur to discuss another possible project before returning in December.
Give to the Max Day
A big thank you to all of our supporters that donated to Toddler Food Partners on "Give to the Max" day and to all that contributed through our GiveMN.org webpage. Also a big thanks to those that attended our open house on 11 November and contributed then. Your generous sharing will be put to good use specifically to complete the clinical study through Sion Hospital in Mumbai. Executive Director, Larry Carpenter, and Board Director Dr. Shivram Murty will be traveling to Mumbai in late November to work with many of the people and organizations that are using Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) to treat malnourished kids from Dharavi.
October 2012
Ribbon Cutting in Haiti
In October, two TFP board members traveled to Cap-Haïtien for the grand opening of the new factory built by Meds and Food for Kids (MFK). Dave Harmann played a big part in coordinating construction and installing and commissioning the manufacturing equipment. George Farrell helped with many of the final details. Click here for a video of the grand opening.
NPR News Report
NPR ran a report featuring Meds and Food for Kids (MFK), their history, growth and new factory. They also talked about how MFK provides good jobs and works with local farmers to improve their peanut crops. Click here to listen. Toddler Food Partners has worked with MFK since they made RUTF in a rented kitchen. Two of our volunteers will be present for the official opening of the new factory.
Matching Grant Announced
One of our volunteers has again pledged to match all donations up to a total of $5000 that are received before 31 December. All donations that come directly to TFP or are made through our GiveMN.org page will be matched!
September 2012
Grant from General Mills
Toddler Food Partners is pleased to announce that they have received a $20,000 grant from General Mills Incorporated. The grant money is specifically targeted towards the continued production of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food which is being tested as Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) to treat malnourished children.
Public Radio Report
Here is an article on "The World" from Public Radio Inernational (PRI). It tells of Plumpy'Nut being rejected by the Indian government. The clinical study that Toddler Food Partners is supporting is featured in this article. TFP board members, Larry Carpenter and Shivram Murty, will be traveling to Mumbai in late November. They will meet with and work with Dr. Manglani and the aid group SNEHA. SNEHA is doing outreach work in the slum and bringing malnourished children into the clinical study. We expect the results of this study to convince the government to approve the use of locally made RUTF to treat SAM children.
August 2012
New Factory Starts Production
With the help of Toddler Food Partners, our partner in Haiti, Meds and Food for Kids (MFK) started production of Medika Mamba in their new 18,000 sq ft factory on August 3. See Recent Activities under the Projects menu for more details. MFK extends an invitation to attend a ribbon cutting! Click here.
July 2012
New Board Member
Toddler Food Partners wishes to welcome our newest board member: Ms. Indra Mehrotra. See the Board of Directors page under the About menu for her biography. She also comes with a passion for fighting SAM in India.
April 2012
Two New Board Members
Toddler Food Partners wishes to welcome two new board members: Dr. Shivrma Murty and Dr. Bharat Parekh. See the Board of Directors page under the About menu item for biographies. Both of the new board members come with a passion for fighting Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) particularly in India.
12 March 2012
One of our partners, Meds and Food for Kids (MFK), has produced a new video that describes how Medika Mamba is saving children in Haiti. Toddler Fook Partners has worked closely with MFK for several years. Some of the equipment you will see in the early factory was procured by TFP. Click here for the video.
26 December 2011
The Mumbai newspaper, Daily News and Analysis, reports today that "Sion Hospital has asked the women and child welfare department to adopt the medical nutrition therapy (MNT) model to provide nutritious food for [malnourished] children". Toddler Food Partners has worked with Sion Hospital and the CTARA Department within India Institute of Technology (IIT) to establish a facility to manufacture MNT at its Urban Health Center in Dharavi. Click here to read full article.
Sierra Leone, December 2011
Larry Carpenter, Executive Director, and a TFP Volunteer, Shiv Murty, have begun discussions with a former student from Larry's years of teaching in Sierra Leone. The student has formed a non-profit, Bedyna, that has helped build primary and secondary schools in his birth village. He has asked TFP to help set up a school lunch or breakfast project that can assure that all students have better and consistent nutrition throughout the year. This partnership is in the beginning stages but we expect the partnership to grow. The first stage of this project will be to obtain a grinder that can be used to process peanuts into peanut butter to provide a high protein snack in the schools.
Many thanks to all of you that participated in Give to the Max day by making a contribution to Toddler Food Partners. Your generosity made the day a resounding success!
One of our volunteers has pledged to match all donations up to a total of $5000 that are dedicated to our "MNT for SAM in India" project. All donations that came in on Give to the MAX day were matched! It is still valid and your donations will still be matched.