#MoringaInspired Recipe Competition to Benefit Farmers in Haiti
OAKLAND, CA (July 14, 2015) — Move over kale! A leafy, more nutritious plant that is packed with all the essential amino acids of meat is slowly gaining popularity: Moringa.1 Highly regarded by many as a superfood, moringa is known to improve nutrition worldwide. With six out of 10 Americans looking for natural, fortified and functional ingredients and foods to include in their daily diet,2 moringa is poised to become the next superfood trend in the US. Helping to introduce moringa into the American palate is one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people, Chef José Andrés. Andrés is working with American moringa company, Kuli Kuli (www.kulikulifoods.com) and Haitian nonprofit Smallholder Farmer’s Alliance to launch a nationwide moringa recipe competition on Instagram, using the hashtag #MoringaInspired to raise awareness and support moringa farming communities in Haiti.
But what is moringa? An “Ancient Green” eaten by indigenous cultures worldwide for thousands of years, moringa is one of the most nutrient dense plants on the planet with nine essential amino acids, 27 vitamins and 46 antioxidants. Because of its nutritional value, moringa has been promoted as a tool to improve nutritional security by international development organizations such as USAID, World Vision and the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). Just one tablespoon of Kuli Kuli’s Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder is equivalent to a full serving of vegetables according to the USDA. For reference, most Americans only get 1.4 servings of vegetables a day.
What does moringa taste like? The raw powdered moringa leaves have a deep, earthy, smoky flavor that mixes well into green dishes such as pesto or guacamole. It can also be used as a thickening agent for soups, smoothies and ice cream.
But don’t feel limited by these suggested applications of moringa… get creative with it!
The #MoringaInspired recipe competition seeks to draw creative and inspiring food and beverage creations from consumers using Kuli Kuli Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder. Capture, post, and share these moringa inspired recipe creations on Instagram. The top ten recipes that receive the most Instagram likes will be reviewed by a team of judges from Jose Andrés’ nonprofit, the World Central Kitchen, which uses the power of food to empower communities and strengthen economies. One winner will be selected to receive a trip to Washington DC and dine at José Andrés’ new restaurant – China Chilcano.
Kuli Kuli Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder is available online or at participating Whole Foods Market locations. During the competition, 100% of the proceeds from Kuli Kuli Pure Moringa online purchases will go to support smallholder moringa farmers in Haiti. For more information and contest rules, please visit www.kulikulifoods.com/moringa-recipe-competition.
“We are excited to work with Chef Andrés and to engage with consumers through Instagram as we promote moringa, its benefits to one’s health and to farming communities overseas,” says Kuli Kuli founder and CEO Lisa Curtis, who was also a former Peace Corps volunteer in Niger— a place where moringa trees grow and are used in local cuisine. “We hope to foster not only creativity in creating delicious recipes, but also awareness of how moringa helps better the lives of people worldwide.”
ABOUT KULI KULI
Kuli Kuli is the first company to introduce moringa, a unique superfood, to the U.S. market in the form of a food product. Kuli Kuli’s moringa products include a gluten-free, vegan Moringa Superfood Bar as well as Organic Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder and
Organic Moringa Tea. Kuli Kuli’s products are carried in over 300 retail locations, including Whole Foods Market. Kuli Kuli supports women-owned farming cooperatives to grow moringa and use it to improve the health of their communities. By incentivizing women to use moringa and paying fair trade wages, Kuli Kuli is improving livelihoods and health. Kuli Kuli sources all of their moringa from smallholder farmers in Ghana, through the nonprofit Fair Harvest, and is developing a second moringa supply chain in Haiti with the nonprofit Smallholder Farmer’s Alliance and José Andrés’ nonprofit the World Central Kitchen.
ABOUT MORINGA OLEIFERA
The tiny leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree may be the world’s most nutritious green with high levels of protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A and B Vitamins. Once eaten by the ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians, moringa leaves have been used in traditional medicine passed down for centuries in many cultures. More recently, the modern scientific community has begun to validate many of these claims with over 1500 studies, articles and publications on moringa. Kuli Kuli is the first company to retail ready-to-eat moringa products.
ABOUT CHEF JOSÉ ANDRÉS
Named to Time’s “100” Most Influential list and awarded “Outstanding Chef” by the
James Beard Foundation, José Andrés is an internationally-recognized culinary innovator, author, educator, television personality and chef/owner of ThinkFoodGroup. A pioneer of introducing the United States to traditional Spanish tapas and avant-garde cuisine, he is also a committed advocate of food and hunger issues and is known for championing the role of chefs in the national debate on food policy. For more information, visit www.joseandres.com
ABOUT SMALLHOLDER FARMERS ALLIANCE
The Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) applies a social enterprise model to help feed and reforest a renewed Haiti by establishing farmer cooperatives, building agricultural export markets, creating rural farm businesses and contributing to community development. Launched in 2010, SFA is a Haitian non-profit foundation of 3,200 farmer-members who cultivate one million trees on 2,500 hectares of cropland per year.
ABOUT WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN
World renowned chef, José Andrés, brings his passion for the “power of food” to World Central Kitchen – a humanitarian organization that focuses on Smart Solutions to
Hunger and Poverty. World Central Kitchen is hard at work “empowering the people” to be part of the solution – with focus on building “smart kitchens,” training on clean cookstoves, creating jobs, and strengthening local business. World Central Kitchen currently works in Haiti and is forming partnerships for projects in Central America,
South America and Africa.
1 Moyo, B. et.al (2011) “Nutritional characterization of Moringa leaves.” African Journal of Biottechnology Vol. 10.
2 Sloan, E. (2014) “Top 10 Functional Food Trends for 2014.” Food Technology Magazine
