Sanitarium is having a significant impact across the South Pacific, partnering with local communities to address critical food needs.
Through initiatives like Tonga’s Free Breakfasts for Schools Program, which provides 16,000 children across 168 schools with nutritious meals twice a week, Sanitarium is making a huge difference in young lives. This program, launched by the Tonga Ministry of Education and Training (MET) in partnership with Sanitarium, addresses the growing number of students arriving at school without eating breakfast and facing poor nutrition.
“The breakfast program has made a huge difference—attendance has improved, and students are more eager to study and learn. We’ve also seen a boost in their overall performance,” said Ipu Silva, principal at Havelu government primary school.
“Parents are relieved from the pressure of providing meals for breakfast and lunch, and the kids are healthier now, getting the right nutrition they need.”
Sanitarium has also been active in providing support to communities in New Caledonia. The civil unrest since May has severely disrupted access to essentials and prevented many from working. Recognising the urgent need for assistance, Sanitarium sent food support.
“Distressed with the events occurring in New Caledonia resulting in civilians being unable to readily access food supplies, our Sanitarium team, supported by our in-market partners, were able to deliver $10,000 worth of food hampers to families who needed them the most,” said Melanie Kennedy, senior business leader at Sanitarium International.
The hampers, which totalled 23,664 serves of Weet-Bix and So Good milk, provided crucial relief.
“Thanks to these generous donations, we were able to support local families during this difficult time,” said Audrey Baboul, Adventist Book Centre supervisor for the New Caledonia Mission.
Other initiatives in the Pacific include the Weet-Bix Raluve Competition in Fiji, where Sanitarium has partnered with Fiji Rugby to empower and develop the next generation of female rugby athletes, building future stars for the Fijiana team. During the rugby finals, Sanitarium provided over 1500 Weet-Bix breakfasts to players and officials. Each participating player also received a Sanitarium product hamper, further supporting their health and performance on and off the field.
Sanitarium’s contributions extend to literacy programs in Papua New Guinea (PNG), participating in the Literacy Week Market Day event organised by Buk Bilong Pikinini. Buk Bilong Pikinini, which translates to “books for children”, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving literacy rates in PNG by establishing children’s libraries.
During the event, Sanitarium provided more than 2000 serves of Weet-Bix and gifted Weet-Bix bucket hats to all children. Additional Weet-Bix donations were made to children and families visiting the Buk Bilong Pikinini Library Learning Centre at Port Moresby General Hospital.
“Thank you so much for your support,” Buk Bilong Pikinini founder Anne-Sophie Hermann said. “The children had a great time with their play-based learning activity. They were very happy to receive the Weet-Bix and bucket hats too!”
Sanitarium’s involvement with education in the Pacific is also evident in the Cook Islands where it sponsored the Creative Art Schools Competition. The competition called for submissions of sculptures made from Sanitarium product packaging, with 600 students from seven schools in the Pa Enua (outer islands) participating. Sanitarium funded $6000 worth of cash prizes to the schools involved. The winning school, Tetautua, was awarded $1200 with the remaining six participating schools each receiving $800.
