Locally available and sustainable food interventions are needed to combat the problem of malnutrition in infants and young children in low-income countries. The goals of this project were to 1) develop a method for producing a uniform, safe cereal made from caterpillars, 2) test maternal and child acceptability of the cereal, and 3) determine if daily intake of the caterpillar cereal can prevent malnutrition among infants. A safe method for preparing cereal made from caterpillars (in accordance with international standards) was developed and an acceptability study and cluster-randomized controlled trial were conducted in the rural Equateur Province in northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The high initial prevalence of stunting and the non-significant growth response to this micronutrient-rich food suggest that factors other than dietary deficiencies contribute to stunting in these children. Children who consumed caterpillar cereal had higher hemoglobin levels and lower prevalence of anemia.

The goal of the Alive & Thrive (A&T) Grants Program (2009 to 2014) was to identify new solutions for scaling up effective and sustainable interventions to improve infant and young child feeding by linking research to program delivery. A&T awarded eight two-year grants in 2010 and four in 2011. The Grants Program was managed by the University of California, Davis.