Salisbury, Md. (Tuesday, April 11, 2023) — As part of a commitment to help eliminate childhood hunger in the U.S., Perdue Farms delivered a $15,000 grant and a truckload of nutritious no-antibiotics-ever protein to Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in Verona, Va., in support of its Good Food School Market child nutrition program.

The grant, funded by the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, and 20,000 pounds of protein — the equivalent of nearly 17,000 meals — are part of the company’s Delivering Hope to Our Neighbors^® outreach to improve quality of life and build strong communities.

The Good Food School Market is a privately funded child nutrition program that brings fresh produce and shelf-stable foods into schools for distribution to students and families experiencing food insecurity and seeks to reduce the stigma of receiving food assistance. The Perdue Foundation grant will help maintain charitable food assistance services for about 395 students and families a month at Harrisonburg High School and 194 students and families each month at Broadway High School.

“We’re grateful to the Perdue Foundation for renewing its generous support and sponsorship of two Good Food School Market locations — Harrisonburg High School and Broadway High School,” said Michael McKee, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “One in 12 children in the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank service area face hunger. By partnering with schools through the Good Food School Market, more teens are getting wholesome foods they need to create strong futures. When a teenager lives with hunger in the house, so does the family. School-based pantries help remove the stigma for students who don’t want others to know they are in need.”

“If kids are thinking about food, they aren’t going to learn. They can’t focus on their education if they are hungry,” said Jenny Knick, Broadway High School assistant principal and Market co-coordinator. “I wish everyone had an opportunity to talk to our kids and our families to understand how much this means to them.”

As Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation, explained, “We like that the Good Food School Markets provide much-needed support to children and families during these difficult economic times, especially in advance of weekends and breaks when school breakfast and lunch are not provided. For nearly two decades, Perdue has partnered with Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to help our neighbors struggling with food insecurity and we’re honored to continue that support through this program.”

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.

About the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Verona, Virginia, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is the largest organization alleviating hunger in western and central Virginia. The Food Bank serves an average of 109,500 people per month across 25 counties and eight cities through distribution centers in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester, and Verona. We’re serving record numbers of Virginians during a prolonged pandemic and its associated economic impacts through our network of more than 400 community partners, which includes food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, schools, libraries, health care clinics, community centers, and more. We pledge to continue innovating and adapting to secure, store, and distribute more food to more individuals, families, children, and seniors experiencing hunger. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America®, a national food bank association that supports 200 food banks across the United States providing 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people through 60,000 partner pantries. For more information, visit www.brafb.org.