Salisbury, Md. (Wednesday, April 24) — More than 740 Perdue associates, their family members and friends across nine states helped beautify streams, shorelines and parks on April 6 and 13 by participating in Project Clean Stream, a companywide effort to help protect and enhance the environment in the communities where Perdue associates live and work.

Volunteers harvested 57,000 pounds of trash and debris from 46 sites in Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including the Chesapeake Bay and coastal bays watersheds on the Delmarva Peninsula. Their bounty included such items as bicycles, tires, toys, mattresses, bottles, televisions and much more.

“Our associates’ participation says a lot about the culture at Perdue,” said Jeff Smith, director of environmental services at Perdue and Project Clean Stream coordinator. “They put a great deal of time and energy into their work and are still willing to come out on a Saturday morning and participate in a project that benefits their community and helps protect the environment.”

In Delaware, associates at Perdue’s Georgetown operation removed more than 10,000 pounds of trash and debris from Trap Pond State Park. In Maryland, Perdue volunteers and local scout troops canvased the environmentally sensitive shoreline at Isle of Wight Nature Park in Worcester County, collecting debris left behind after a series of winter storms zeroed in on the region.

“What I really like about Project Clean is it gives me an opportunity as a Perdue associate to really give back to the community and give back to Perdue who I work for, but also involve the family members,” said Perdue associate Gail McWilliam, who helped organize volunteer efforts at Isle of White. “What we found was more storm damage from Superstorm Sandy. A lot of boat piers broke away during that storm and washed up on the beach in this area. We also did find some tires, and that’s unfortunate, but at least we got them out of the water.”

On Virginia’s Eastern Shore, volunteers based at the company’s operations in Accomac removed nearly 4,000 pounds of trash and debris from four locations in the Bay watershed in Accomack County.

Lee Butler, environmental manager, organized clean-up efforts along the road fronting the company’s plant in Rockingham, N.C., and at two local waterways. “Having more associates (this year) allowed us to split into two teams … it made it much more efficient. We were able to collect trash (stuck) on trees and slow moving areas in Hitchcock Creek. Everyone came away with a more positive feeling and sense of accomplishment. It was truly a team effort.”

“It’s important for me to participate in Project Clean Stream because I want our complex to be beautiful,” said Jenny Fain, environmental supervisor at Perdue’s operation in Cromwell, Ky., who joined associates to clean a local creek adjacent to the Perdue facility and removed trash and debris to create a short walking trail. “Project Clean Stream is a great event that focuses on doing the right things for the right reasons by cleaning up, recycling and promoting environmental stewardship.”

About Project Clean Stream
Project Clean Stream was launched in 2004 by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland as a grass-roots effort to clean up waterways and shorelines in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Perdue joined the volunteer project in 2008 with 30 volunteers. Perdue has supported the Alliance and Project Clean since 2008 through funding provided by the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue.

“What the Alliance is really trying to build is environmental stewards,” said Al Todd, executive director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “Business has been a big part of that and there’s nobody better than Perdue, who’s been our partner for more than five years through the volunteer efforts of their associates and through financial support.”

In 2011, Perdue expanded the Project Clean Stream concept across the company to encourage associates to organize similar clean-up efforts in their communities. Since 2008, associates have harvested more than 80 tons of trash and debris from local ponds, streams, roadways and parks.

“Project Clean Stream provides an exciting opportunity to engage associates in helping protect the environment in the communities where they live and work, while reinforcing our company’s commitment to being a good corporate citizen,” said Steve Schwalb, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability at Perdue. “The combined strength of our associates’ efforts has the potential to make a tremendous impact.”

About Perdue Farms
Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue Agribusiness, and represents the Perdue family ownership.  Since our beginning on Arthur Perdue’s farm in 1920, through expansion into agribusiness and the introduction of the Perdue brand of chicken and turkey under Frank Perdue, to our third-generation of family leadership with Chairman Jim Perdue, we’ve remained a family-owned, family-operated business dedicated to making Perdue the most trusted name in food and agricultural products.

To learn more about Perdue, visit www.perdue.com.