We grow with
the community
Saber Nutrir
Through the Saber Nutrir® program, we improve the quality of life for families who live with food security issues by implementing productive projects and marketing training.
We work in partnership with the Pro Mazahua Foundation in the State of Mexico and with ChildFund Mexico in Tapachula.
Saber Nutrir® and Pro Mazahua joined efforts in 2013 to benefit Mazahua families in the State of Mexico. In five years of labor, we have built 1,037 productive projects, of which 109 were built in 2018.
Currently, 95% of the built projects are in operation, benefiting 595 families in 19 rural communities. On average, the beneficiaries receive a profit of $701 pesos each week from selling the products they cultivate, more than what they obtain for self-consumption.
Our yearly nutritional monitoring[1] of the benefited families indicate that 86% remained stable, 9% improved and only 5% worsened, compared to the 2017 assessment.
In September 2014, we began the Partners for Comprehensive Care for Childhood Growth and Development in Tapachula, Chiapas, with ChildFund México. This program has four pillars. The main results for 2018 were:
- Food security: we installed 90 new projects, producing a total of 144 farms and 112 gardens that have been active since the start of the program.
- Safe water: we installed safe water systems (cisterns, water tanks, wells, water purifiers and biodigesters) for 45 families and 4 schools, bringing the total to 168 water projects in 8 communities.
Pillars 1 and 2 cover an average of 68% of the food expenses for the families who have benefited.
- Commercialization: 22 families have been added to the project, organized into 12 groups, to commercialize eggs and meat. This brings the total to 23 projects: 22 farms and 1 garden. Currently, the products are sold in communities and in the city of Tapachula, Chiapas.
In 2018, the families who participated in the project received $25,700 pesos in earnings.
- Nutritional monitoring and early stimulation: we provided 458 early stimulation sessions that helped to improve the neurological development of children under age 6. We continued nutritional monitoring for 225 children, 88% of whom achieved a normal nutritional status, and 44% of whom have recovered from anemia.
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[1] The assessment was performed on 56 children from 38 families who have received support since the start of the program.
In 2018, we invested 2.2% of our consolidated net income in social programs.
Barter Market
In 2018 we held the first edition of the Grupo Herdez Barter Market. This is a fair trade initiative designed to help improve the quality of life of the families who have benefited from the Saber Nutrir® program, through the purchase and sale of the products that they harvest or produce in family gardens at competitive prices.
In this project, employees from our corporate offices exchanged recyclables such as cardboard, cans, paper, PET, tetra packs and glass, for vegetables, herbs, fruit and embroidered goods from the Mazahua community in the State of Mexico.
The first edition of the Grupo Herdez Barter Market produced the following results:
- We benefitted 6 communities.
- More than 130 employees from our corporate offices participated.
- We collected 663 kg of recyclables, which were exchanged for more than 250 kg of organic food and 99 pieces of embroidery made by women in the Mazahua community.
Herdez Foundation
In 2018, Herdez Foundation celebrated 30 years of serving Mexican society through the promotion, dissemination, research and education on issues surrounding Mexico’s nutritional development.
The Mexican Gastronomy Library operated by the Herdez Foundation provided personalized services to 1,696 users in 2018, bringing the total number of visitors to 55,407 since it opened in 1997.
This year we published two books: El cacao, alimento divino [Cacao: Divine Food] and Xanat: vainilla, dulce aroma para el mundo [Xanat: Vanilla, Sweet Aroma for the World] are both available for download at http://biblioteca.herdez.com.mx.
We also launched two games. Our Mexican bingo game features fruit, vegetables, and certain spices, while the Memory game features fruit, vegetables and other spices.
The Mexican Gastronomy Museum provided personalized services to 10,564 users, bringing the total number of visitors to 178,096 since it opened in 2000. The museum currently houses a collection of 601 pieces, 8 of which were acquired in 2018.
The Interpretation Center was the venue for 20 training events attended by 338 people.
Through our monthly food donation program, we donated a total of $45 million pesos in products in partnership with the Mexican Food Bank (BAMX).
The Herdez Foundation also donates to those affected by natural disasters, such as flooding, heavy rain, hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes and drought.
In 2018, Storm E-19 produced rainfall that caused the Fuerte River to overflow its banks, causing flooding and affecting employees from the Santa Rosa Industrial Complex in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Through Grupo Herdez, the Herdez Foundation delivered 623 food packages to support those affected.
We donated $45 million pesos in kind, in partnership with the Food Bank of Mexico.
