StartWell Foundation

17/10/2026

Proud moment for the StartWell family 🌱

Org took the stage at the World Nutrition Summit, hosted by The Noakes foundation , to talk about one of South Africa’s most overlooked crises: protein-energy malnutrition (PEM).

Too many children are filling up on cheap, nutrient-poor foods… fed, but not nourished. The result shows up in stunted growth and development that can’t be undone later.

At StartWell, we’re tackling this by closing the behavioural gap: helping caregivers, teachers and parents shift from empty calories to quality, protein-rich real food. Every meal we deliver comes with practical nutrition education, because lasting change starts with understanding.

Thank you to The Noakes Foundation for the platform and for championing real food.

16/10/2026

Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.

The greatest investment we can make is quality nutrition during the early years. What we put on a child’s plate today shapes who they can become tomorrow.

That’s why we always do two things together.

We nourish, with meals we design and produce ourselves, rich in protein a growing body can actually use.

We educate, so good nutrition carries on at home. In our caregiver workshops, guided by World Health Organization guidance, we talk about:

•Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months
•Milk options when breastmilk isn’t available
•Starting solid foods at the right time
•A varied diet: animal-sourced foods every day, fruit and veggies every day, legumes and nuts often
•Cutting back on unhealthy foods and drinks
•Vitamin and mineral supplements
•Responsive feeding: noticing and responding to a child’s hunger and fullness cues

A meal feeds a child today. Knowledge helps a family feed a child for years.

Right now, 23,000 children start their day with a StartWell breakfast. Our facility is built to support 200,000. With the right partners, we can reach so many more.

15/10/2026

What a privilege to be part of the World Nutrition Summit this week! 🌍

StartWell Foundation is there to share our mission: unlocking human potential through nutrition. Our founder Org van der Wath joined as a speaker, and our stand gives us the chance to talk with delegates about stunting, which we call the silent killer of South Africa’s potential, and about how the right nutrition in the early years can change a child’s future.

Thank you to The Noakes foundation and Eat Better South Africa! for hosting such an important gathering, and to everyone who stopped by our table. Conversations like these move the needle for South Africa’s children. 🇿🇦

Unlocking human potential through nutrition🧠
🔗 www.startwellfoundation.org

29/09/2026

Stunting is preventable. But no single meal, workshop or policy solves it on its own.

That's why we invest in early human development across five connected pillars:

Produce: wholesome, nutrient-dense products, made in our own facility.
Educate: parents and teachers on the nutrients children need to grow.
Nourish: with quality, science-backed nutrition, with 10,000+ children eating StartWell Grow for breakfast every day.
Monitor: children's growth, using innovative technology.
Advocate: for policy and regulation that puts children's growth first.

When all five work together, we see humans thrive.

If your organisation wants to be part of that, let's talk.

At StartWell, we believe a child's first years shape the rest of th...

24/09/2026

Happy Heritage Day 🇿🇦

“Heritage is not what we inherit from our ancestors, but what we pass on to future generations.”

Today we celebrate the food, stories, languages and traditions that make us who we are. At StartWell, we also think about what we’re handing forward.

The first 2,000 days of a child’s life shape how they grow, learn and thrive for years to come. A plate with eggs, meat or fish, and colourful vegetables. A caregiver who talks, plays and loves. A community that shows up for its little ones.

That’s a heritage worth passing on: children who start well, and grow into the legends of tomorrow.

What will you pass on? 💛❤️💙🖤💚

16/09/2026

Powering Human Potential through Nutrition!

We believe in nourishing little bodies so that they can grow and develop into their full God given potential.

With meals, workshops, educational tools and calls for policy updates. We know nutrition unlocks potential and we invite you to be part of it.

09/09/2026

Zola Budd needs no introduction on a running track. Today we got to see her take on a different kind of race, one that matters just as much: giving South African children the best possible start in life.

The Zola Budd Foundation is focused on the first 1,000 days, the window from conception to a child's second birthday when the brain and body grow faster than at any other point. Their work is about the people around a child in that window: training and supporting parents, teachers and ECD practitioners to build safe, loving spaces where little ones can learn and thrive, starting right here in Stellenbosch.

It was a privilege to host Zola and her team at StartWell today and hear more about where this new initiative is headed.We are so excited about Zola's new initiative and the incredible impact she and her team will make. Her Foundation builds the environment a child learns in.

StartWell helps power the body that has to grow and learn in it. Two completely different jobs, working toward the exact same child. We look forward to walking hand in hand with the Zola Budd Foundation.

19/08/2026

Somewhere in South Africa, before the sun is properly up, someone is already making sure a child eats well today.

That’s what this is really about. People showing up for children, morning after morning.

We nourish with purpose. Every StartWell meal is made with quality ingredients and bioavailable protein, the kind of protein these little bodies can actually use to grow.

We can’t do that alone. Together with Atterbury Trust , we’re reaching 2,200+ children in schools with the food and care they need to grow. Across the country, StartWell is doing this for 21,000+ children every single day.

Every meal is a small act of belief in what these kids can become.

Powering human potential through nutrition.
In partnership with Atterbury Foundation.

06/08/2026

400 future accountants. One big decision. R30,000 for stunting-free futures.

This year, second-year BCom Accounting students at the University of Pretoria took part in a Giving Games Project, proudly facilitated by King Price Insurance.

Students were introduced to three incredible charities King Price supports, trained in the basics of effective giving, and then went head-to-head in group discussions, debating impact, efficacy, and where their (hypothetical) rand would do the most good.

Then came the vote.

Both classes, roughly 200 students each independently chose StartWell Foundation 🏆

Our mission is simple but urgent: eliminating child stunting in South Africa by giving babies and infants access to the nutrient-dense, bio-available protein they need in their first 1,000 days.

Org van der Wath presented to both classes and accepted a cheque for R30,000 on behalf of StartWell from the BCom Department at UP (TUKS) 🎉

To every student who leaned in, asked hard questions, and chose to back real impact, thank you. This is what the next generation of change makers looks like.

📍 University of Pretoria
🤝 In partnership with King Price Insurance