This Loveland mom is feeding African orphans by farming edible insects

Amy Franklin passed out seasoned crickets to anyone brave enough to taste them Monday at a sustainability fair at Colorado State University.

While at least half turned down the free sample, the veterinarian turned philanthropist theorizes similar edible insects can help combat world hunger in places where bugs are not an unusual ingredient — a 2013 U.N. study estimated about 2 billion people, or 28 percent of the world’s population, regularly consume edible insects.

Franklin’s Loveland-based nonprofit called Farms for Orphans raises palm weevil beetle larvae for orphanages in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the African country from which she and her husband have adopted two children. The grub long consumed wild in Congo is typically cooked up with a vegetable stir fry and served over rice.

“It tastes like little breakfast sausages,” Franklin said. “It is high in fat, protein, micronutrients and iron and has been a delicacy in the country.”

Franklin first visited Congo in 2011 to treat wild mountain gorillas.

She was inspired to start her own charity after the 2013 adoption of her 3-year-old son and 13-month-old daughter. When they were adopted, the children were so small and malnourished that they didn’t meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention standard growth chart.

“It got us thinking about how human potential is lost because of poor nutrition,” Franklin said.

Franklin first explored farming traditional protein sources like poultry or goats but found the Congo orphanages had little land or resources to start such an operation.

She then discovered the 2013 U.N. study and put forth a plan to farm beetle larvae in plastic bins inside of shipping containers that use no electricity.

Farms for Orphans started the larvae farming project last year. Franklin, who returns to Congo quarterly, said the organization has impacted 1,200 kids.

“She’s helping to feed a really vulnerable population with a food that they love,” said Wendy Lu McGill, a Farms for Orphans board member who runs a Denver-based edible insect farm called Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch.

The organization could soon expand to include edible crickets and mealworms.

“I had no exposure to the world of edible insects before this (organization),” said board member Nicole Ureda, who previously worked in the medical field. “But once I learned the idea, it totally rocked my world. It made so much sense to me.”

And while the organization's supporters don’t expect it to make much sense to many of their American neighbors, they feel edible insects can make a difference in places of need.

Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen.