Salisbury, Md. (Tuesday, March 26, 2013) — Perdue, through the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, has presented a $10,000 grant to the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to support Project Clean Stream. This marks Perdue’s sixth consecutive year of continued support for the annual Bay watershed stream and shoreline cleanup effort.

“The Alliance has been on the forefront of engaging citizens and groups to find creative ways to restore and preserve the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and we are proud to continue our support through a Foundation grant to Project Clean Stream,” said Bill Hetherington, executive director of the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. The grant was presented to Alliance officials during a Tuesday, March 26 ceremony at Mitchell Pond in Salisbury, site of Perdue’s first Project Clean Stream cleanup site.

The grant will help fund Project Clean Stream administrative costs and enable the Alliance to further expand the volunteer effort across Bay watershed states. Project Clean Stream will be held Saturday, April 6.

 “At the Alliance, we are thrilled with Perdue’s continued participation in Project Clean Stream,” said Al Todd, executive director of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “Perdue’s continuing financial support and the volunteer participation by their employees personify our mission to restore the Chesapeake Bay through collaborative engagement with the communities that work and live in the Bay watershed. We’re proud to call Perdue a valued partner.”

Perdue Associates Embrace Project Clean Stream
At Perdue, Project Clean Stream has provided a great opportunity for associates to get directly involved in helping clean up local waterways, and is among the many ways they support the local community and help preserve the environment.

Perdue launched its Project Clean Stream volunteer effort in 2008 with a contingent of 30 associates who removed more than 2,000 pounds of debris from two clean-up sites in Salisbury, Md.

“In our first year at Mitchell Pond, volunteers removed more than 1,700 pounds of trash and debris from its shorelines,” said Jeff Smith, Perdue director of corporate environmental services and Project Clean Stream coordinator. “However, thanks to their efforts through five years, we continue to see a significantly reduced amount of trash coming from that site. Mitchell Pond is a great example of the impact our collaborative efforts can make within the community.”

In 2010, more than 450 Perdue associates joined forces with community volunteers to remove an estimated 18,000 pounds of trash from sites across the Delmarva Peninsula.

In 2011, Perdue expanded the Project Clean Stream concept across the company to encourage associates to organize similar cleanup efforts in their communities. In five years, associates have removed more than 66 tons of debris through companywide community projects.

“Project Clean Stream has served as a great example of Perdue’s stewardship and sustainability efforts in the environmental arena,” said Smith.  “It allows us to engage our associates and their families and friends as we go out and embrace projects that have positive environmental impact within and around the communities in which we operate. The combined strength of our associates’ efforts has made a tremendous impact.”

About The Alliance For The Chesapeake Bay and Project Clean Stream
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay engages individuals, groups, businesses, other environmental organizations and non-profit groups to develop collaborative solutions to improve, preserve and protect the Chesapeake Bay and all its resources.

Bringing these diverse groups together enables the Alliance to find common solutions to protect the Bay’s unique natural resources for future generations while protecting its communities. The Alliance believes there can be healthy streams and rivers and a healthy economy.

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. In 2012, more than 5,000 volunteers turned out at 225 clean-up sites to remove an estimated 300,000 pounds of trash and debris from streams and wooded areas throughout the watershed. Since 2004, 700 tons of trash and debris have been removed from the Bay watershed.

To learn more about the Alliance and Project Clean Stream, visit www.allianceforthebay.org.

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.

About the Arthur W. Perdue Foundation
The 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.