When I first met Pierre Moise Louis in Jérémie, Haiti, 15 years ago, he had just finished university. Determined to help his family and his country, Louis had one goal: to build a business around breadfruit. He saw this humble, starchy fruit not just as a food staple, but as a solution to hunger, to poverty, and even to climate change.
The hunger crisis in Haiti reached a new high in the last year, with one in two Haitians experiencing acute hunger. Haiti is also one of the most impoverished countries in Latin America, with more than 60 percent of the population living below the poverty line. When Louis discovered breadfruit, he saw it as more than a fruit. He saw food, income, and climate action in the form of a tree.
Bridging the Poverty and Hunger Gap
At Trees That Feed Foundation, a 2014 Make It Better Foundation Philanthropy Award winner, we share Louis’s vision of using breadfruit to feed and drive work to the Haitian communities. We donated equipment for his first breadfruit flour factory. Over the years, we helped him expand, building a tree nursery, a processing facility, and a bakery now known as Jérémie Breadfruit Flour and Nursery. Today, Louis is not only running a successful enterprise — he’s teaching others to do the same.
We purchase breadfruit trees from Louis and donate them to local farmers. We buy his nutritious, breadfruit-based biscuits (“konparets”) and distribute them in schools, filling children’s stomachs with food that is healthy, sustainable, and locally made. Now, United Nations organizations are following our lead, buying his flour to prepare school meals like breadfruit dumplings (“boul”) in a hearty bean sauce.
Louis’s story is a model of what’s possible when local talent meets global support. Years ago, we traveled with him to Jamaica to learn the breadfruit trade. Today, he’s a leader in Haiti’s growing breadfruit movement.
Why Breadfruit?
Breadfruit is among the most protein-rich and nutritionally dense fruits that grow on trees. Studies show that it contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein — a rare quality in plant-based foods. It’s rich in fiber and has a relatively low glycemic index, making it ideal for managing diabetes. For centuries, people in the tropics have eaten breadfruit boiled, roasted, fried, or turned into flour.
From the Caribbean to Africa, the Pacific to Central America, breadfruit thrives in warm, humid climates — the same regions that face the highest rates of hunger. One tree can bear up to 350 fruits every year for up to 100 years, making it one of the highest-yielding food crops on Earth. It doesn’t require replanting, it improves soil health, and it captures carbon throughout its long life.
In fact, scientists are now pointing to breadfruit as a powerful tool in the fight against climate change. A recent study co-authored by TTFF board member Dr. Nyree Zerega found that breadfruit is more climate-resilient than staple crops like corn, soy, or rice. Once established, breadfruit trees can withstand drought for 3 to 4 months and endure extreme heat far better than annual crops.
As climate change and conflict push more people into hunger, we need crops that are resilient, accessible, and nourishing. Breadfruit checks every box.
The same study also revealed promising news: while some growing regions may shrink due to climate shifts, new areas in Africa and even the United States are becoming suitable for breadfruit cultivation. TTFF is already expanding our work in those places.
Feeding Communities with Breadfruit
At Trees That Feed Foundation, we always think long term. When a community plants a breadfruit tree, they’re not just feeding themselves today — they’re investing in food security for generations. In some cultures, there’s even a tradition: plant a breadfruit tree when a child is born, so that child will never go hungry.
We’re grateful to the scientists who are documenting breadfruit’s potential. But we’re just as grateful to people like Louis, who are proving what’s possible when science, support, and local leadership come together.
Louis started with a dream. Today, he is feeding his community, strengthening Haiti’s food system, and training the next generation of growers and bakers. Multiply his story by hundreds — or thousands — and imagine the global impact.
Breadfruit is not a silver bullet. But it’s close. It’s one of the most practical, scalable, and inspiring solutions we have. And it grows on trees.
How to Help
Trees That Feed Foundation plants fruit-bearing trees in more than 20 countries to help feed people, create jobs, and improve the environment. They’ve developed various programs in tree distribution, fruit harvesting equipment, and school feeding.
By donating to Trees That Feed, not only can you help fund their programs, but you can also contribute to planting their 500,00th tree.
This post was submitted as part of our “You Said It” program.” Your voice, ideas, and engagement are important to help us accomplish our mission. We encourage you to share your ideas and efforts to make the world a better place by submitting a “You Said It.”
Mary McLaughlin is the founder and chair of Trees That Feed Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to planting fruit-bearing trees to combat hunger, create jobs, and support the environment. Born and educated in Jamaica, Mary began her career as a geologist with the Jamaican Geological Survey and later worked in the oil industry in Dallas. She has also served as a schoolteacher in the Bahamas and founded McLaughlin Glazeware, a high-end giftware company whose clients have included the White House, Lyric Opera, and Brooks Brothers. Mary lives in Winnetka, Illinois.
