August 2016
MealFlour Arrives in Xela
In July, co-founder Elizabeth Frank arrived in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala to meet with MealFlour's collaborating organizations. She met with our first partner community, Candelaria, where MealFlour is working with several women and their families in a partnership with the nutrition program at Primeros Pasos. The women in Candelaria were introduced to mealworms, sampled mealworm cookies, and most expressed interest in setting up their own farm in the fall. Primeros Pasos works in several of the communities surrounding Xela and after our first pilot in Candelaria, MealFlour hopes to expand the program to these areas as well.
Growing Mealworms in Connecticut
Co-founder Gabrielle Wimer has started raising mealworms in Connecticut at the Wakeman Town Farm. The mealworms are doing well and some have already grown into beetles. As soon as they were fed banana peels, they started doing great! This is great news moving forward because bananas and plantains are common in Guatemala. Our farm in Connecticut is made from simple plastic storage drawers, but the farms can be made from any material. In Guatemala, we hope to make the farms from up-cycled water and gas jugs that are commonly tossed into nearby streams.
Want to raise your own mealworms at home? Check out our how-to video to learn how to build your own mealworm farm!
Mealworm Cookies with La Mandarina
MealFlour is working with La Mandarina, a bakery in Quetzaltenango . La Mandarina bakes and delivers muffins each week to school children in Candelaria and MealFlour is excited to work with them to begin providing protein-packed treats this fall. To supplement our nutrition class and training program, La Mandarina baked cookies for the women we work with made from 100% and 50% mealworm flour. In November, the bakery, MealFlour, and Primeros Pasos will also collaborate to give cooking classes to the women in Candelaria to teach simple, but delicious, recipes that incorporate protein-packed mealworm flour. Stay tuned for a cookbook of mealworm flour recipes that you can try at home!
¡Gracias!
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