Mennonite Central Committee

Meat Canning

 

Supplementing Food Needs – One Can at a Time

by Kathi Suderman, MCC NE Asia Representative

During an October 2008 visit, I was surprised by some of the comments shared by various directors of tuberculosis (TB) hospitals and rest homes in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) (also known as North Korea), indicating that 30 to 50 percent of these facilities’ food needs were being met by canned meat and other food shipments from MCC and its partners.

It was evident that food sent by Christian Friends of Korea (CFK) was vital for the food needs of patients. CFK, an MCC partner, is a U.S. Christian NGO that works with the Ministry of Public Health in two provinces. Since 2007, MCC has partnered with CFK to send canned meat, dried soup mix, dried apples, greenhouses, health kits and comforters to TB hospitals and rest homes. Since 1996, MCC had been sending canned meat and other material resources to the DPRK via other partnerships. From 1999 until now, 1,957,809 pounds or 889,913 kg of canned meat have been delivered.

The food situation in the DPRK continues to be of concern. A 2008 U.N. report indicated that the DPRK’s food production had declined for the third year in a row and estimated that in 2009 more than 8 million people would require food assistance to meet their basic food needs. The reasons for food shortages in the DPRK are complex, but simply put, they can be seen as a combination of local management and production issues, international political tensions that limit the availability of imported or donated fertilizer and frequent summer flooding that often destroys crops.

TB, which has been a problem in North Korea for decades, has worsened in the last 10 years, according to Heidi Linton, CFK executive director. Malnutrition directly impacts the body’s ability to resist disease. One TB hospital director estimated that most patients gain 10 to 15 kg in the first two months of treatment. The enhanced nutritional support combined with the medicine and rest they receive at these facilities greatly contributes to their improved health.

Directors of TB rest homes explained that MCC canned meat and chopped fresh vegetables are added to soup made from the MCC soup mix. One director said that the meat produced a tastier soup, and he added that his rest home saved the emptied cans for recycling, receiving compensation that further benefited the rest home.

In 2008, MCC also sent canned meat and soybeans to orphanages in the DPRK through its partnership with First Steps, a Canadian charity that works to improve the nutritional status of children in the DPRK. The soybeans are used by the orphanages to produce soymilk, which together with the canned meat, provides supplemental nutrition to these growing children.

MCC has plans to send more canned meat to TB facilities in the DPRK in 2009.

As I visit and work with partners in the DPRK, I consider it a privilege to share the fruits of your hard work and precious contributions. Thanks to you, the health of TB patients and orphanage children, two vulnerable segments of the DPRK population, has been significantly improved.