Salisbury, Md. (Wednesday, July 19, 2023) — As part of a commitment to improve quality of life in its communities, Perdue Farms has awarded $40,000 in grants to three non-profits in the Washington, Indiana area — Comforting Hearts, Real Recovery and Youth First. The donations from the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, Perdue’s charitable giving arm, is part of the company’s Delivering Hope to Our Neighbors^® initiative focused on building strong communities.

“Giving back to our communities is such as important part of the culture at Perdue Farms,” said Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation. “Youth First, Real Recovery and Comforting Hearts provide such meaningful resources to our neighbors in the region, and we’re proud to lend our support.”

Youth First
Perdue awarded a $15,000 grant to Youth First Inc., whose focus is on giving students K-12 access to free mental health support and prevention programs. Since 1998, Youth First has placed master’s level social workers in Indiana schools, giving students access to free mental health support. Eighty-three Youth First workers are available to students in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Lawrence, Martin, Morgan, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. The Perdue award enables Youth First to serve 4,000 students in one-on-one sessions, during the school day, for free.

“Maintaining and expanding such easy access to highly trained licensed social workers is Youth First’s contribution to the national effort to address rising youth mental health concerns,” said Christina Nunley, Youth First director of development. “With help from Perdue, Youth First is growing a flexible, evidence-based, insurance-free system of care that is increasingly recognized and supported by national researchers.”

Real Recovery

Real Recovery offers four programs, including a boxing program that mentors youths ages 12 to 18, teaching responsibility and the fundamentals of boxing, and a Recovery Café that provides a safe space for people living in recovery. Perdue’s $15,000 grant will be used to purchase boxing equipment, and computers, which will enable people without online access apply for jobs and housing, and food for the café.

“The cafe is a place people can come and be connected to community resources, such as finding jobs, housing and more. We will also provide a warm meal every day the café is open,” said Shaneah Shartzer, executive director of Real Recovery. “In the café, we have certified recovery coaches who can meet with individuals one on one. We’re grateful for Perdue’s support.”

Comforting Hearts
A $10,000 Perdue grant is helping Comforting Hearts create an all-inclusive playground in Longfellow Park. The project will replace mulch flooring with a synthetic rubber surface and install inclusive playground equipment that allows children with wheelchairs to easily transfer from their wheelchair to the equipment or stay in their wheelchairs to play, according to April Hunt, president of Comforting Hearts, which was established in 2022.

“Children with disabilities will benefit from being able to access usable and fun playground equipment. They will be able to play side by side with their siblings and other children. This will build relationships between children of differing abilities and erode harmful stereotypes and stigmas about disabilities,” Hunt explained. “Additionally, increased recreation will improve children’s emotional and cognitive development.”

About the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation
The Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms, was established in 1957 by company founder Arthur W. Perdue and is funded through the estates of Arthur W. Perdue and Frank Perdue. As part of our belief in supporting the communities where and with whom we do business, the Foundation provides grants on behalf of Perdue Farms in communities where large numbers of our associates live and work. At Perdue Farms, we believe in responsible food and agriculture^®.

About Perdue Farms
We’re a fourth-generation, family-owned, U.S. food and agriculture company. Through our belief in responsible food and agriculture, we are empowering consumers, customers, and farmers through trusted choices in products and services.

The premium protein portfolio within our Perdue Foods business, including our flagship PERDUE® brand, Niman Ranch®, Panorama Organic Grass-Fed Meats®, Coleman Natural®, and Yummy®, as well as our pet brands, Spot Farms® and Full Moon®, is available through various channels including retail, foodservice, club stores and our direct-to-consumer website, PerdueFarms.com. 

Perdue AgriBusiness is an international agricultural products and services company.  

Now in our company’s second century, our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger. We never use drugs for growth promotion in raising poultry and livestock, and we are actively advancing our animal welfare programs. Our brands are leaders in no-antibiotics-ever chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and lamb, and in USDA-certified organic chicken and beef. Learn more at Corporate.PerdueFarms.com.