Latest news with #EdesiaNutrition
Boston Globe
07-08-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
McDonald's sales return to growth, pushed by promotions
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up NONPROFITS Advertisement Federal government restarts order for R.I.-based Edesia to ship food to children in Africa Edesia Nutrition CEO Navyn Salem walks past a delivery truck sitting idle at the company's North Kingstown, R.I., facility where they make Plumpy'Nut, a nutritional lifesaving peanut paste sent to malnourished children worldwide, on March 14. David Goldman/Associated Press After months of limbo, a backlog of 185,000 boxes of food intended for malnourished children around the globe that have been sitting in a Rhode Island warehouse following the dismantling of US Agency for International Development earlier this year will finally be on their way to Africa. Navyn Salem, CEO of the North Kingstown-based nonprofit Edesia Nutrition, wrote in an email on Wednesday that the US State Department issued a tender on Tuesday for 11,285 metric tons of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic, or RUTF, — 'enough life-saving food for 818,000 severely malnourished children in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan, Chad, Madagascar, Niger, Sudan, Djibouti, and DRC.' The food is the first new federal government order to the nonprofit in months, and Edesia expects another order soon, Salem confirmed. Separately, Salem wrote the '185,535 boxes that have been sitting in our warehouse in RI have been assigned to Nigeria and the Central African Republic and will be on their way very soon.' 'We persevered,' Salem wrote. 'By not letting up or giving up, we held America to its ideals as a force for good in the world.' — CHRISTOPHER GAVIN Advertisement TECH Trump announces Apple investing another $100 billion in US manufacturing Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks as President Trump looks on in the Oval Office on Aug. 6. Alex Brandon/Associated Press Apple CEO Tim Cook joined President Trump at the White House on Wednesday to announce a commitment by the tech company to increase its investment in US manufacturing by an additional $100 billion over the next four years. 'This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,' Trump said at the press conference. 'Today's announcement is one of the largest commitments in what has become among the greatest investment booms in our nation's history.' As part of the Apple announcement, the investments will be about bringing more of its supply chain and advanced manufacturing to the United States as part of an initiative called the American Manufacturing Program, but it is not a full commitment to build its popular iPhone device domestically. 'This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components — semiconductor chips included — that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and we're grateful to the President for his support,' Cook said in a statement announcing the investment. The new manufacturing partners include Corning, Coherent, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments and Broadcom among others. Apple had previously said it intended to invest $500 billion domestically, a figure it will now increase to $600 billion. Trump in recent months has criticized the tech company and Cook for efforts to shift iPhone production to India to avoid the tariffs his Republican administration had planned for China. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement RETAIL Claire's, teen jewelry chain, files for bankruptcy a 2nd time People shop at a Claire's in New York in 2018. Seth Wenig/Associated Press Claire's, the jewelry chain that was once an inescapable part of life for many teens, filed for bankruptcy a second time Wednesday, joining other retailers who have struggled amid the growth of online shopping and the uncertainty set off by tariffs. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. It said in a statement that it also planned to start insolvency proceedings in Canada that would allow it to restructure. 'This decision is difficult, but a necessary one,' said Chris Cramer, Claire's CEO, adding that the company was discussing its future with 'potential strategic partners.' He cited increased competition, consumer spending trends and the company's debt obligations. Stores in North America will remain open as the company explores alternatives, the statement said. Claire's, which is based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., operates more than 2,750 stories in 17 countries across North America and Europe, according to its website. — NEW YORK TIMES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Advertisement OpenAI offers ChatGPT for $1 a year to US government workers The OpenAI logo. Gabby Jones/Bloomberg OpenAI is providing access to its ChatGPT product to US federal agencies at a nominal cost of $1 a year as part of a push to get its AI chatbot more widely adopted. The move comes after the General Services Administration announced it approved OpenAI, along with Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Anthropic, as vendors in its new marketplace allowing federal agencies to buy AI software at scale. OpenAI is offering the enterprise version of its ChatGPT product, which includes enhanced security and privacy features. The US government's central purchasing arm has used its buying power before to negotiate discounts with software providers like Adobe Inc. and Salesforce Inc. But the $1-a-year pricing from OpenAI is the deepest yet, and the first for an artificial intelligence company, according to a GSA official familiar with the matter. The terms of the contracts with Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude haven't been disclosed. Besides encouraging more applications of its ChatGPT product — which now has nearly 700 million users a week — OpenAI executives said the government discount would help deliver on the White House's action plan for federal agencies to integrate new AI tools in their work. 'The focus of this effort is not to gain a market advantage over competitors. It is to scale the adoption of artificial intelligence across the federal workforce,' said Joe Larson, vice president of government at OpenAI, said in an interview. 'The private sector is embracing AI. We don't believe the government should be left behind.' — BLOOMBERG NEWS HIGHER EDUCATION College applications rise outside US as Trump cracks down on international students Graduating students take photos outside Senate House at Cambridge University in England on May 17. 2024. Joe Giddens/Associated Press In China, wait times for US visa interviews are so long that some students have given up. Universities in Hong Kong are fielding transfer inquiries from foreign students in the United States, and international applications for British undergraduate programs have surged. President Trump's administration has been pressuring US colleges to reduce their dependence on international enrollment while adding new layers of scrutiny for foreign students as part of its crackdown on immigration. The US government has sought to deport foreign students for participating in pro-Palestinian activism. In the spring, it abruptly revoked the legal status of thousands of international students, including some whose only brush with law enforcement was a traffic ticket. After reversing course, the government paused new appointments for student visas while rolling out a process for screening applicants' social media accounts. The United States remains the first choice for many international students, but institutions elsewhere are recognizing opportunity in the upheaval, and applicants are considering destinations they might have otherwise overlooked. The impact on US universities — and the nation's economy — may be significant. New international enrollment in the United States could drop by 30 percent to 40 percent this fall, according to an analysis of visa and enrollment data by NAFSA, an agency that promotes international education. That would deprive the US economy of $7 billion in spending, according to the analysis. Many international students pay full price, so their absence would also hurt college budgets. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement
The Independent
02-08-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Food earmarked for millions of people still languishes in warehouses after Trump shuttered USAID
Food aid groups that partner with the U.S. Agency for International Development to assist in providing critical nutrition for millions around the world have had to watch cases of food go to waste as the Trump administration dismantled USAID. In Georgia, Mana Nutrition, a company that creates ready-to-use therapeutic food, is waiting for someone to pick up 400,000 cases of its nutritional supplement to be shipped worldwide. The food could help an estimated 60 million people, but chaos with USAID has disrupted coordination, the company told the Washington Post. The company is planning to destroy approximately 585 cases of its peanut paste this month because it became too dated to ship while waiting for a new government contract that never happened. The owner of Mana Nutrition told The Post that some of it could have been added to previous shipments, but wasn't. But other companies or organizations that have or had contracts with the government to supply aid have faced similar issues in recent months. In July, approximately 500 metric tons of food aid, specifically high-energy biscuits meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, expired while being stored in warehouses in Dubai. While the administration assured people that the small percentage of food aid wasted would not impact future shipments, some have raised concerns about the pattern that has been highlighted due to the dismantling of USAID. Last month, the company Edesia Nutrition waited for someone to pick up more than 100,000 boxes of nutritional aid that had sat in a warehouse in Rhode Island. After sounding the alarm, the shipments were finally picked up only after a Rhode Island retailer teamed up with the company. In May, several people familiar with USAID told Reuters that more than 60,000 metric tons of food, sourced from American farmers and manufacturers, was set to expired in warehouses by July. That concerned enough people that the Office of Inspector General said it would open an investigation into food aid in warehouses. It's unclear if that aid was eventually shipped. The Trump administration has sought to axe USAID by revoking federal funding and firing most of its staff. President Donald Trump and his allies have characterized USAID as an unnecessary agency filled with 'waste, fraud, and abuse.' USAID, which was established in the 1960s, was one of the world's leading distributors of food and aid. Partnering with other companies, USAID provided humanitarian assistance, medical necessities, education, and more to people living in poverty, war-torn countries, and disaster-impacted communities. A spokesperson for the State Department told the Post that it is 'constantly assessing global humanitarian needs and expects to allocate additional resources to address those needs in line with U.S. interests.'
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Food earmarked for millions of people still languishes in warehouses after Trump shuttered USAID
Food aid groups that partner with the U.S. Agency for International Development to assist in providing critical nutrition for millions around the world have had to watch cases of food go to waste as the Trump administration dismantled USAID. In Georgia, Mana Nutrition, a company that creates ready-to-use therapeutic food, is waiting for someone to pick up 400,000 cases of its nutritional supplement to be shipped worldwide. The food could help an estimated 60 million people, but chaos with USAID has disrupted coordination, the company told the Washington Post. The company is planning to destroy approximately 585 cases of its peanut paste this month because it became too dated to ship while waiting for a new government contract that never happened. The owner of Mana Nutrition told The Post that some of it could have been added to previous shipments, but wasn't. But other companies or organizations that have or had contracts with the government to supply aid have faced similar issues in recent months. In July, approximately 500 metric tons of food aid, specifically high-energy biscuits meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, expired while being stored in warehouses in Dubai. While the administration assured people that the small percentage of food aid wasted would not impact future shipments, some have raised concerns about the pattern that has been highlighted due to the dismantling of USAID. Last month, the company Edesia Nutrition waited for someone to pick up more than 100,000 boxes of nutritional aid that had sat in a warehouse in Rhode Island. After sounding the alarm, the shipments were finally picked up only after a Rhode Island retailer teamed up with the company. In May, several people familiar with USAID told Reuters that more than 60,000 metric tons of food, sourced from American farmers and manufacturers, was set to expired in warehouses by July. That concerned enough people that the Office of Inspector General said it would open an investigation into food aid in warehouses. It's unclear if that aid was eventually shipped. The Trump administration has sought to axe USAID by revoking federal funding and firing most of its staff. President Donald Trump and his allies have characterized USAID as an unnecessary agency filled with 'waste, fraud, and abuse.' USAID, which was established in the 1960s, was one of the world's leading distributors of food and aid. Partnering with other companies, USAID provided humanitarian assistance, medical necessities, education, and more to people living in poverty, war-torn countries, and disaster-impacted communities. A spokesperson for the State Department told the Post that it is 'constantly assessing global humanitarian needs and expects to allocate additional resources to address those needs in line with U.S. interests.' More than 730 million people face malnutrition or hunger worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The U.S. is the single largest donor of international food assistance. Food aid has been especially highlighted recently as people in Gaza are on the brink of starvation and face dire circumstances.
The Herald
10-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald
USAID cuts threaten ‘God's food' made in Georgia for children in need
He has vowed to keep his factory going and his 130 workers employed, even as the Trump administration has slashed 90% of USAID contracts and $60bn in US assistance across the board. One possibility is finding another international aid organisation to support the manufacture and distribution of Mana's peanut paste packets, each about the size of a cellphone. Most of the product, which also includes powdered milk, sugar and vitamins, goes to Africa, where Moore served as a missionary in Uganda for 10 years. 'It saves children who are at the brink of no return,' said Mark Manary, an expert in childhood nutrition at Washington University's Institute for Public Health who helped develop the paste's formula. 'It's hard to wrap your mind around the need.' Manary said the food created in Georgia and at a similar operation in Rhode Island, Edesia Nutrition, is an important link in the global effort to stave off starvation of children in countries where the main killer is malnutrition. Moore hopes legislators and the Trump administration will see the value in the work and put the money back into the new federal budget. 'I believe the US government will remain involved in global food aid,' he said, adding he has spoken to Republicans and Democrats who want the work to continue. Moore is also seeking contracts with other organisations that specialise in humanitarian aid for children in crisis, including Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Unicef. The organisations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One bright spot in recent years was an infusion of cash from Chris Hohn, a hedge-fund billionaire based in London and a philanthropist with the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. Hohn's charity did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In recent years, Hohn has given more than $250m to Mana Nutrition, according to Moore, much of it spent on expanding the plant, more than doubling its space and adding new machinery. However, Mana needs new contracts to go forward, or another donation from philanthropists. 'We've been put on Earth for a purpose,' Moore said. 'Jesus told his disciples to go and feed the people. So we've been hustling nonstop.' Reuters
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Edesia Nutrition: 120K boxes of food at risk of expiring due to funding cuts
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (WPRI) — More than 120,000 boxes of fortified peanut paste — which Edesia Nutrition ships globally to combat severe malnutrition — will soon expire due to a lack of government funding. Navyn Salem, founder and CEO of Edesia Nutrition, told 12 News the nonprofit relies heavily on its monthly payments from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). But the North Kingstown-based nonprofit has struggled in recent months to continue its life-saving mission because of the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to dismantle USAID. 'The termination of USAID is putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of malnourished children at risk around the world,' Salem said. 'Children can't wait for the government or other international agencies to figure out a solution. We have to act now.' RELATED: Edesia Nutrition cuts 10% of workforce due to lack of USAID funding Salem said her nonprofit has been operating without 85% of its funding. The boxes of Plumpy'Nut sitting in Edesia Nutrition's warehouse were supposed to be shipped to Sudan, where Salem said the situation is dire. 'This is one of the most critical countries that need our support,' Salem said. Salem told 12 News she's waiting on a transportation contract from the federal government to send the boxes to Sudan. But if she doesn't get that approval within the next month, the United Nations won't allow her to ship it out. In an effort to try and ship the Plumpy'Nut without the transportation contract, Edesia Nutrition has launched a Mother's Day donation drive. 'Malnutrition and undernutrition are 100% preventable,' Salem said. 'As a mother myself, it's unconscionable that children are starving to death.' 'We have the solution; we just need the funding to get our life-saving Plumpy'Nut to them,' she continued. 'A $50 donation buys one box of Plumpy'Nut that will save one child's life. This will help us give mothers around the world what they want most — healthy children.' Salem is encouraging everyone who can to donate in honor of their mother. She said each gift will be matched up to $2.4 million. Anyone interested in donating to Edesia Nutrition can do so online. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
