The childhood hunger epidemic is so severe in Liberia that one child dies of malnourishment every 12 seconds. When Todd Grinnell, Ryan Devlin and Ravi Patel visited Liberia, they were heartbroken by the poverty they encountered. Upon their return, they knew they had to take action. They created a healthy, nutritious fruit and nut bar with the “buy one, give one” mentality that has successfully provided other goods to the unfortunate across the globe.

With the purchase of this new snack, a nutritional bar by the name of “This Bar Saves Lives,” a child in need receives an identical food bar, jam-packed with all of the nutrients required to nurse them back to health. “This Bar Saves Lives” has attracted the attention of A-list celebrities like Kristen Bell. The celebrity endorsement and subsequent promotional video released by Bell has attracted mainstream attention to not only the product but also the horrible reality that is child hunger and malnutrition.

Bell is the latest investor and endorsement the company has received this year. Since its founding, Grinnell, Devlin and Patel have made a variety of appearances at highly publicized events to promote the bar, Comic-Con being one of them. They have also partnered with several companies such as Edesia Global Nutrition Solutions, Whole Foods Market, GOOD Inc., Mending Kids International, Kashi Company, The Strongheart Group and Kiss My Face.

Since 2013, 528,940 packets of bars have been sent to children in need. The co-founders of “This Bar Saves Lives” hope that by the end of this year, the company will sell one million bars, giving the helpless around the world another chance at life and nutrition.

– Alysha Biemolt

Sources: Look to the Stars, This Bar Saves Lives 1, This Bar Saves Lives 2, This Bar Saves Lives 3
Photo: CNN