Glenroy Inc., a manufacturer of flexible packaging, is proud to provide packaging material for HopeGel — a nutrient and calorie-dense protein gel designed to aid children suffering from severe acute malnutrition. HopeGel has been distributed to children in Haiti — where malnutrition is the number one cause of death among children under five — through the work of a nonprofit, grassroots organization called the HopeGel Project.

The HopeGel Project was initiated by co-founders Daniel Schapiro and Dr. Nathan Feldman of EB Performance, LLC in partnership with Dr. Jeffrey Miller and the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation. Working with food scientists and nutritionists, EB Performance developed an orange-flavored gel dense with proteins, fats and amino acids that can be sipped directly from a squeezable pouch or fed to children through feeding tubes. HopeGel is easily digestible, requires no refrigeration and is shelf-stable for up to one year. The use of flexible packaging allows HopeGel to be easily transportable, and the shape of the package makes it easy for children to consume the product from the pouch.

The HopeGel Project flies shipments of the product directly from an airport in South Florida to an airport in northern Haiti, where the shipments are taken directly to hospitalized children at Hospital Sacré Côeur. "We see the malnourished children begin to think more clearly and become more active and playful after only a few weeks of nutritional supplementation with HopeGel," says Sister Ann Crawley, director of the nutrition center at Sacré Côeur Hospital in Milot, Haiti.

"It has been an honor to provide packaging material for this life-saving product," according to Ken Murtagh, regional manager for Glenroy Inc. "What these folks are doing is incredible. We hope to see the HopeGel Project continue to prevent children from being lost to starvation."

To date, the nonprofit HopeGel Project has been funded entirely through donations to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation in Boca Raton, Fla., with all donations going directly toward manufacturing the product and flying it to Haiti. "Unlike a traditional business, we are dependent on continued donations to make this product," says Schapiro. "Although there is plenty of work to do in Haiti, we would eventually like to expand to other areas of the world where we can make an impact as well," adds Feldman.

Donations are currently needed to produce and distribute more HopeGel. To support the HopeGel project through a donation or to read further details on the project, please visit www.hopegel.com. Each donor brings the HopeGel Project one step closer to producing the next shipment of HopeGel for children in need.