Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Boca doctor, firm develop packet to aid nutrition
BOCA RATON — HopeGel, a product developed with the help of a Boca Raton company and doctor, is making a difference in the lives of young children in Guatemala and Haiti.
The nutritional packet, which contains protein, vitamins, minerals, good fats and high calories, is designed specifically for malnourished toddlers and other young children to help them achieve a healthy weight.
HopeGel is a collaboration between EB Performance co-founders Nathan Feldman and Daniel Schapiro with Dr. Jeff Miller and his family.
The project began eight years ago when Feldman and Schapiro were making strides with their Boca Raton-based business, which develops and distributes protein products to the shelves of regional food retailers. They happened to see a newsletter item about Dr. Miller, a Boca Raton Regional Hospital-affiliated urologist. While volunteering his time as a surgeon in Haiti, Miller was handing out peanut butter bars to children during his visit to the country.
That sparked the decision to develop a formula that was better for the children, a ready-to-use therapeutic food. “It was a no-brainer,” Feldman said.
They came up with HopeGel, which can be eaten straight out of its small disposable pouch and does not need to be refrigerated, cooked
or mixed with water.
About two years ago, Food For The Poor executives heard about HopeGel and reached out to the company to learn more. Food For The Poor, based in Coconut Creek, is the nation’s seventh-largest charity, specializing in providing donated goods to the needy in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Forbes. The nonprofit, led by Robin Mahfood, had 2016 revenue and $995 million in financial support, with 95.6 percent going to program services, according to its audited financial report on its website.
Food For The Poor began distributing HopeGel at its nutritional centers in Haiti. More recently, it delivered 34,000 packets to two nutritional centers in Guatemala, which has one of the worst rates of chronic malnutrition in the world.
Feldman said distribution has been smooth sailing, as a result of HopeGel’s partnership with Food For The Poor, which works in 17 countries and has experience navigating government and community issues.
The development process took years, working with food scientist Steve Rittmanic to devise the best formula. A partner in EB Performance, Rittmanic has worked with Dean Foods, the Food Products Association, Carnation Dairy and other organizations.
Meanwhile, Feldman and Schapiro ran into a roadblock in securing new funding for their forprofit business. So they paused their business to focus on HopeGel, which has become their passion.
“They’re the best guys. They’re like my brothers,” said Miller, who helped fund early production of HopeGel through friends and family. Some of his patients got on board as well. But he said it is Feldman and Schapiro who have devoted most of their time in recent years to making HopeGel.
“With several years of minimal income on their end, they just kept doing it,” he said.
Donations have been flowing through the Boca Raton Regional Hospital Foundation. But recently, HopeGel set up its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is building a website, hopegel.com. Feldman, Schapiro, Miller and his two daughters, Alison, 24, and Amanda, 23, are the co-founders.
The two business owners pressed on, eventually securing a manufacturer, Mana Nutrition, a Fitzgerald, Ga., company that specializes in therapeutic foods. Feldman said Mana was able to help them lower the production cost of the packet from the original $1 each. Now, they’re making and shipping three HopeGel packets for under a $1, which has helped them increase production.
Food For The Poor centers reported back that HopeGel was working. In fact, children were clamoring for them. Miller would receive emails that one center was down to 10 packets — could they deliver more?
“There was tremendous weight gain and an increase in mental sharpness. Their appetite returned,” Miller said, following a recent trip to Guatemala with his wife, Rachel, a nurse, and daughter Amanda.
Food For The Poor vice president Mark Khouri said HopeGel is a much needed product. “These children in Haiti and Guatemala are really malnourished, so that when they have regular food their bodies can’t process it,” he said.
HopeGel is designed “to give them a high amount of calories so they can come back to a level where they can start eating regular food,” Khouri said.
Moreover, children “like eating it,” Khouri said of HopeGel, which tastes like peanut butter with a tinge of fruit. “Because it’s like a sweet, children like it — it’s not like ‘eat your vegetables.’ ”
Sometimes, the nutritional centers freeze the packets so children can eat them like popsicles. At Sor Lucia Roge Nutritional Center in Guatemala City, children spread the HopeGel like peanut butter on bread.
EB Performance is now working on a new product line of protein drinks with a plan for a portion of the proceeds to go to HopeGel production. The HopeGel team also is working on developing new kinds of therapeutic food.
Food For The Poor hopes to soon distribute HopeGel in many more countries.
“By helping the HopeGel folks, we can help them raise more money so we can help more kids through our programs,” Khouri said. “There are so many more malnourished children. The need is there.”