In an ongoing effort to help with Hurricane Katrina relief, Bright Beginnings Nutritionals coordinated two pediatric product donations to help feed children displaced by the most destructive and costly hurricane in United States history.

Infant Formulas and Cereal

On September 8, 2005, our company donated infant formula products and cereal to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Bright Beginnings contributed its line of products to America's Second Harvest, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States.

“Our thoughts are with the victims of this terrible tragedy,” said Paul B. Manning, president and CEO of Bright Beginnings Nutritionals. “Pediatric nutrition is our company’s core business. We hope our product donation helps feed some of the children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.”

The Bright Beginnings donation was distributed by America’s Second Harvest Network to its Member food banks and food rescue organizations in the Gulf Coast region.

Ready-to-Serve Nutritional Drinks One week after our initial donation, a second donation of Bright Beginnings ready-to-feed, pediatric nutritional drinks was distributed by Operation USA, a privately funded organization that has been conducting relief flights and sea and land shipments throughout the world since 1979.

“We realize the availability of clean drinking water is a serious problem in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama,” said Manning. “In addition to supplying infant formula to the region, we wanted to make a ready-to-drink contribution to feed older children displaced by the disaster. Earlier this year, we teamed with Operation USA to assist with tsunami relief, and the organization is presently directing another disaster response program with our products here in the United States.”

Corporate donations from hospital, water purification, pharmaceutical, and medical supply companies were transported along with our pediatric nutritional drink contribution from the Operation USA, Port of Los Angeles warehouse in Wilmington, California, to a temporary warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana. Supplies were subsequently distributed to nonprofit urban and rural health clinics in the areas affected by the hurricane.

Increased Production Efforts

So far this year, Bright Beginnings’ disaster relief contributions have totaled more than $500,000. PBM Nutritionals, LLC, the maker of Bright Beginnings™ infant formula with DHA and ARA, has also increased production efforts to manufacture more infant formula for retail partners that are supporting the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other disaster recovery organizations.