Food Plant Solutions

19/05/2026

The ‘Ask’.

At this time of year, we all see it.
The fundraising campaigns.
The sponsorship requests.
The EOFY appeals.

And truthfully, sometimes it can feel overwhelming.

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that lately. About what makes people choose to support one thing over another.

For us, it comes down to whether the work genuinely matters, whether it's 'real' and whether it leaves something meaningful behind long after the funding is gone.

It's one of the reasons we care so deeply about Food Plant Solutions.

It's not an imported solution or something that only works whilst funding is available.
And it doesn't create dependency.

Proven, practical, science-based educational resources that help communities identify, grow, and use nutritious local food plants in their environment.

Imagine a solution to food insecurity and malnutrition that is simple.

Helping people better understand the food plants already around them.
Helping families understand the nutrients those plants provide and why those nutrients matter for health.
Helping communities build resilience using knowledge they can carry forward themselves.

In a world that often feels increasingly uncertain, practical knowledge matters.

And perhaps that is what makes something worth supporting.

foodplantsolutions.org

Food Plant Solutions fights malnutrition by promoting nutrient-dense, climate-resilient edible plants, empowering communities with sustainable food security solutions.

11/05/2026

Access to practical nutrition education should not depend on the size of a project budget.

That’s one of the reasons Food Plant Solutions (FPS) operates as a cost recovery project.

Since 2007, FPS has focused on creating plain-language, science-based educational resources that help communities identify, grow, and use local, nutrient-dense food plants. The resources include information on the key nutrients each plant contain and why those nutrients matter for human health.

Rather than operating as a profit-driven consultancy, our approach is designed to keep resources affordable and accessible across a wide range of programs and sectors, including:
• food security
• nutrition
• health
• agriculture
• livelihoods
• climate resilience
• humanitarian response

Today, FPS has published more than 265 resources for over 60 countries, helping governments, NGOs, community groups, and development partners integrate practical nutrition education into existing projects using locally available food plants.

Affordable access matters.
Because scalable nutrition education should not be limited to organisations with large budgets.

04/05/2026

Statistics on malnutrition are more than just numbers.

𝟥𝟧.𝟧 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝟤𝟥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟧.
(𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴)

Every child is someone's daughter or son. A family, community, and country's' future.
𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

"𝘐𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." 𝘜𝘕𝘐𝘊𝘌𝘍 𝘌𝘹𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭.

35,000+ edible plants in the world.

Many are highly nutritious.

Many are neglected and under-utilised species.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴.

Food Plant Solutions resources fill this gap. They identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow and use them, and explain the key nutrients they contain and their benefit to human health.

265+ 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴
60 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁?

Communities that are empowered through education.
Communities that can make informed choices about what to grow and eat.
Communities that thrive with climate-resilient food production.

The solution exists.

Let's stop the talk, it's time to walk the walk.






Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
UNICEF
Rockefeller Foundation

27/04/2026

Most countries already have guides on growing food.
And separate information on nutrition.

So what’s missing?





Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Rotary Club of Devonport North

World Vision International
Rotary Tasmania

21/04/2026

A few weeks ago, Food Plant Solutions was invited to speak at a forum hosted by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome on how food security contributes to long-term stability and peace.

The forum brought together organisations working across global food systems, including FAO, IFAD, WFP, and Rotary.

Holger Knaack, Chair of The Rotary Foundation, provided the closing remarks.

Since then, there’s been strong interest from different parts of the world, with conversations opening up around how this work could be used in existing programs.

This feedback in particular stood out:

“This is an excellent video… you’ve highlighted today’s top priorities in a way the wider public can understand. I intend to use this in the Philippines and Cambodia… This is a significant contribution of FPS to nutrition and garden education.”
– Julian Gonsalves

It’s exciting to see how this is being received and where it’s heading next.

You can view our presentation here:
https://foodplantsolutions.org/world-food-programme-forum/

Rotary International
Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

13/04/2026

The Power of Plants

A grandmother stands beside a small cooking fire while children sit nearby waiting for dinner.

For years, meals in her village were simple but not always nourishing. Rice filled stomachs, but the children were often tired and unwell. Then a local caregiver shared something small but powerful. A Food Plant Solutions guide showing the value of local plants already growing nearby.

One plant growing quietly beside the path turned out to be rich in vitamins. Soon its leaves were added to soups and stews. The change was simple, but meaningful. The children began eating meals that nourished their bodies as well as filled their stomachs.

This is the quiet power of education.

Food Plant Solutions creates science based guides that help communities recognise the nutritional value of local plants. One resource can reach caregivers, schools, and families across an entire region.

A small piece of knowledge can ripple through a whole community.

What local plants do you remember growing up with?

Share your story below.

08/04/2026

A Guide That Travels Further Than Food

In a small training room, a group of community workers sit together around a table covered in colourful plant pictures.

They are not receiving food parcels.
They are receiving knowledge.

Inside each Food Plant Solutions guide are carefully researched plants that grow locally. Plants that may have been overlooked for years. Many are rich in iron, vitamin A, protein, and other essential nutrients.

When caregivers learn about these plants, something powerful happens. They begin teaching others. A teacher shares it with students. A health worker shares it with families. A farmer recognises new value in crops already growing nearby.

One guide becomes hundreds of conversations.

Today, Food Plant Solutions supports communities across 60 countries with more than 260 publications, all freely available to help families grow and prepare nutritious food.

Education travels further than any food shipment ever could.

Would you help more communities access these resources?
Support the mission and help knowledge grow.

06/04/2026

The morning begins early in Tshikapa, Kasai in Democratic Republic of Congo. A mother stirs a pot over a small fire while children gather nearby, waiting for breakfast. For many families here, the simple question of nutritious food each day is still a challenge.

Malnutrition continues to affect thousands of families across the region, weakening children and limiting the healthy growth every child deserves.

Since June 2025, our partner Action Santé RDC has been strengthening its response through the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) programme, helping families move towards nutritional independence through practical, local solutions.

One approach is the “5 Stars” enriched porridge, developed for children aged 6 to 59 months and for pregnant women, using locally available ingredients to improve nutrition. Alongside this, family gardens are being established so households can grow diverse foods and strengthen long term food security.

Behind these community efforts is collaboration. Action Sante RDC have said"We thank Food Plant Solutions for their essential technical support, which reinforces the impact of our actions on the ground."

Addressing malnutrition takes many hands and many partnerships. Every garden planted, every bowl of nutritious porridge prepared, brings renewed strength and possibility for families in Kasai.

Together, we can grow health, resilience, and hope.

30/03/2026

I was sitting at my desk when I read the statistic the first time.

Then I read it again.

Then I opened another source to be sure.

66.6 percent of Africans are unable to afford a healthy diet.

It felt impossible to reconcile that number with what I already knew.
Africa is home to more than 9,000 edible plants. Leafy greens, fruits, roots, seeds. Foods rich in iron, protein, vitamins, and fibre. Many of them already adapted to local climates, already known by communities, already growing in backyards and along pathways.

And yet, projections suggest that by 2030, Africa’s food import bill could climb to USD 110 billion.

I sat with that contradiction for a while.

This is not a story about scarcity.
It is a story about lost knowledge, broken food systems, and missed opportunity.

Every person deserves access to a healthy, affordable diet. Not as charity, but as a basic human right.

This is why Food Plant Solutions exists.

We partner with local, trusted NGOs who understand their communities.
We create science-backed resources that bring agriculture and nutrition together.
We identify highly nutritious local food plants and explain how to grow them, how to use them, and which nutrients they provide that are critical for human health.
We tailor these resources to literacy levels and translate them into local languages wherever possible.
We free up in-country teams to focus on delivering change, not spending months researching what already grows around them.

One guide. Shared again and again.

One piece of education. Reaching families, caregivers, and communities.

That is how lasting change happens.

When I think about that 66.6 percent, I do not feel hopeless.

I feel determined.

Because the solutions are already there.

They are growing in the soil.

If this statistic unsettles you the way it unsettles me, maybe it is time we had a conversation.

23/03/2026

Food insecurity remains a serious challenge in parts of Kenya.

In West Pokot and Turkana, an estimated 1.8 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity. Recent reports show stunting rates.

These figures highlight the scale of the nutrition crisis and the long term impact it has on children, families, and community development.

Expanding access to nutrient-dense, climate-resilient foods can play a critical role in improving nutrition outcomes while strengthening food systems in vulnerable regions.

Sustainable progress comes when nutrition, agriculture, and environmental resilience are addressed together.