USAID works with Breedlove Dehydrated Foods in Lubbock, Texas in the preparation and storage of shelf-stable and pre-packaged dried vegetable soup mix. The soup is distributed worldwide to help feed families in need including those in Kyrgyzstan through a network of non-governmental organizations. These institutions include regional hospitals, orphanages, nursing homes, mental institutions, charity centers, and tuberculosis (TB) institutions.

This program does more than distribute vitamin-enriched supplementary meals - it also helps to offset financial pressures experienced by the region’s healthcare system. Osh Regional TB hospital is one of 80 institutions receiving food assistance from USAID in Kyrgyzstan. An estimated 1,400 patients received one vitamin-enriched, supplementary serving of food every day for approximately six months. One doctor at the hospital commented on the impact of the program, “We are now able to reduce the amount of vitamin supplements we were previously providing patients because their requirements are contained in the soup product which we now serve.”