Our Story

Will Hauser and Lauren Walters – old friends – decided to start a new kind of food company: one that would make great products and help feed hungry children around the world.

They had similar backgrounds – both were the sons of two doctors and both decided on business careers instead of medicine. Both always believed that business and helping others were completely compatible.

Will, while an undergraduate at Harvard, led Harvard Student Agencies, the largest student-run business in the world, before going to Goldman Sachs. Lauren is an experienced entrepreneur, investor and advisor to companies and non-profits.

Both knew that working to reduce malnutrition would have a lasting impact on the lives of children. While NGOs and generous donors were making a difference, Will and Lauren believed that translating ordinary purchases into specific donations of meals could make an even greater impact on the lives of children.

Our Team

Our team embodies the same qualities of excellence and compassion inherent in our business model.

Ben Calkins, our Regional Sales & Account Manager, currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Having spent many years in the hospitality and service industry, he understands the value of great service and customer loyalty. Growing up in the SF Bay Area and living all over the West Coast has developed his great passion for the outdoors.

Barr Hogen, our bar guru and product developer, is the former Odwalla Creative Chef and Director of Product Development.  She lives with her husband and three kids in Boulder, Colorado, a national hotspot for all-natural food production.

Maiya Holliday, our website manager, studied International Development at UCLA and developed a passion for coding websites soon after — she is always happiest combing the two and coding for social impact.  An avid traveler, she has the most weathered laptop of the team.

Paul Tasner, our supply chain senior advisor, is a former Clif Bar and Method Products executive. He is a regular author and lecturer on supply chain sustainability.

Peter Walters, our campus program director, is a recent graduate from Trinity College where he created and launched our campus program. He is a former EMT, professional sailor, and has started two social ventures.

Board of Directors

Darr Aley has spent the last 20 years building business-to-business and business-to-consumer technology, software, and internet companies. He recently founded Moms and Jobs, a social enterprise clothing manufacturer that employs mothers in struggling communities.

Jim Anathan has an extensive background in retail, including the position of President, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Director of Filene’s Basement Corporation, a post that he held for 16 years.

Rich Levandov has over 25 years of experience as an entrepreneur, operating executive, and venture capitalist in cutting edge early stage technology companies. He is currently a Managing Member of Avalon Ventures.

Meena Mansharamani is Managing Director of Materne North America. Prior to joining Materne, Meena started her own business, Pup To Go, oversaw innovation at Pepsi-Cola North America and led strategy at PepsiCo.

Board of Advisors

Steve Collins, a physician with a doctorate in nutrition, is the founder of Valid Nutrition and Valid International. He has worked with malnourished children in Africa, Asia and Latin America for more than 20 years. Steve is responsible for revolutionizing the treatment of childhood malnutrition with a model of Community-Based Therapeutic Care.

Cris Genovese, our marketing consultant, is a former marketing manager at PowerBar and the CMO at an eco-friendly packaging company.

Brock Leach is vice president of mission, strategy and innovation at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) and an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister.  Prior to seminary, Brock spent 24 years with PepsiCo, having served as President and CEO of its Frito-Lay North America and Tropicana divisions and as Chief Innovation Officer where he was responsible for the company’s overall health and wellness initiative.

Dan Lewandowski is a former Technology Director at General Mills and Program Manager at Pillsbury. He has deep experience in product development, food technology, and ingredient sourcing that spans almost all product types and formats.

Joia Mukherjee is the Chief Medical Officer of Partners In Health. Joia has been involved in health care access and human rights issues since 1989 in the United States, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. She is a Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health.

Judith Palfrey is the co-Chair of Global Health Programs at Children’s Hospital, Boston and Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move” Initiative.

Gus Schumacher is the former Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the USDA. In his role, Gus oversaw the Farm Service Agency, the Foreign Agricultural Service, and the Risk Management Agency. He was also President of the Commodity Credit Corporation.