ASA President Richard Wilkins and Delaware soybean farmer David Marvel show soybeans to WISHH’s USDA-funded training participants from Nicaragua and South Africa. Participants in WISHH’s USDA-funded Cochran training said the visit showed them, firsthand, the linkage between U.S. farmers and their local school nutrition programs.

The American Soybean Association (ASA) President Richard Wilkins joined fellow Delaware soybean farmer, David Marvel, in sharing soybean sustainability knowledge with the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health’s (WISHH) U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded program participants from Nicaragua and South Africa.

USDA’s Office of Capacity Building and Development (OCBD) contracted with WISHH to offer the training course that highlighted the value of soy in global school nutrition programs. Developing country school feeding programs use thousands of tons of U.S. soy. The training included meetings with Washington, D.C.-based food and agriculture groups as well as a visit to Marvel’s soybean and vegetable farm.

Delaware nutrition education extension experts and school officials also hosted the participants. Two alumni of WISHH’s prior Cochran Fellowship trainings joined as instructors and offered their expertise in soy nutrition and product development in South Africa and Central America. In a post-training evaluation, 100 percent of the participants reported that they strongly agree that the training increased their knowledge of school feeding and nutrition.

Participants said the training further convinced them that the soy and other foods USDA provides to Nicaragua and other developing countries through the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program provide important and healthy nutrition for children.