Our Community

Giving back has long been a part of the Perdue Farms culture. That tradition continues through our “Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors®” outreach to improve quality of life and build strong communities where we live and work, and beyond.

As a food company, we are uniquely positioned to help thousands of Americans experiencing food insecurity. Through collaborative partnerships, our nutritious protein donations help struggling individuals and families put a meal on their table. The long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic challenges have amplified the need in our communities. Throughout the pandemic, Perdue Farms has donated more than 10 million pounds of protein (the equivalent of more than 40 million servings) to help combat hunger.

Since 2000, Perdue Farms has partnered with Feeding America® and its network of food banks to help neighbors in our communities who are struggling with food insecurity. Through our Fiscal Year 2021, we have delivered more than 88 million pounds of protein to regional food banks serving our communities – the equivalent of 73 million meals. Perdue Farms was one of the first meat companies to implement a formal program of ongoing donations of perishable protein products, creating a model for other companies to follow.

We are also dedicated to Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors in our communities in other ways, including through the power of volunteerism and encouraging our associates to engage in causes to support our neighbors. Our associates have big hearts and are making a difference in their communities. 

We also improve quality of life in our communities with targeted philanthropic partnerships through the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the charitable giving arm of Perdue Farms. Through the pandemic, the Foundation earmarked nearly $3 million in grants to 157 non-profits across communities where our associates live and work. The financial contributions strengthen our communities by focusing efforts on education, agriculture, the environment, health and social services, public safety, and fighting hunger and poverty.

Here are some examples of how Perdue Farms supported its neighbors in FY21:

• In Maryland, the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation joined the Richard A. Henson Foundation to award matching $1.25 million grants to fund the Perdue Henson Junior Achievement Center on the Eastern Shore. The 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art experiential learning center will help ensure the financial literacy of students for future generations. The facility is scheduled to open in Fall 2023.

• In 2021, funding from the Perdue Foundation helped the Salisbury, Md. community realize the opening of a Challenger Little League Division® baseball field called Project 7 for children with special needs and abilities. The accessible artificial turf field complex includes bleachers, sidewalk, parking, a nearby inclusive playground and other amenities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.

• The Perdue Foundation partnered with the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to provide scholarship opportunities to students at the historically black land-grant research university. Scholarships support students studying in agriculture, business, construction management technology, hospitality, tourism, engineering and more.
• In northeast North Carolina, Perdue Farms partnered with the Bertie County Hive House to fund certified teachers for its summer tutoring program to help kindergarten through eighth-grade students, who struggled amid the pandemic, improve their reading and math skills. The Hive House has been a trusted hub of resources for at-risk children, youth and families since 2008. It provides afterschool programs for elementary and middle school students, nutrition and wellness programs for seniors, a food pantry, hot meals and internet access for job seekers.
• In Petaluma, Calif., Perdue continued its financial and volunteer support for the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS) that focuses on helping those experiencing homelessness. Perdue’s financial support helps individuals build self-sufficiency and provide access to extensive client resources, including housing and employment search assistance, job boards and employment opportunities, legal assistance, budgeting workshops, credit repair counseling, rental resume and landlord relations training and more.

• In Virginia, Perdue Farms renewed its financial support for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank’s Good Food School Markets, a privately funded child nutrition program that brings fresh produce and shelf-stable foods into high schools for distribution to students and families in need and seeks to reduce the stigma of visiting a food pantry.
• In Seaford, Del., $100,000 in Perdue Foundation funding to the Chesapeake Conservancy, a Maryland-based environmental nonprofit, is helping construct an outdoor natural amphitheater at the new Oyster House Park in southern Delaware.
• In the suburban Atlanta area, Perdue Farms provided the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office a protein donation to help feed 3,000 families during the department’s first Thanksgiving Drive-Thru Food Giveaway.

• In western Kentucky, Perdue Farms delivered boxes of frozen chicken to more than 450 healthcare workers and staff at Ohio County Healthcare in Hartford in appreciation for their ongoing efforts to keep our associates, neighbors and community safe through the Covid-19 pandemic.

• Perdue also supported tornado recovery efforts by donating $150,000 to the United Way of Kentucky Tornado Relief fund and donated 160,000 servings of protein to Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland to support our neighbors and families in their time of need. Associates also joined Feeding America to distribute meals to 1,000 families in Bowling Green, where a deadly, EF-3 tornado struck a neighborhood where some of our associates and their families live.
• In rural Virginia, Perdue Farms and the Eastern Shore Literacy Council partnered to make age-appropriate books available to 2,400 eligible children through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The global Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting books each month to children from birth to age 5, free of charge through funding shared by local community partners.

• In Iowa, the Perdue Foundation funding is helping fund construction of a new 100,000-square-foot multi-sport indoor turf facility in partnership with Dordt University and Sioux Center. Scheduled for completion in 2022, the facility will provide year-round opportunities on a multi-functional field for use by youth, collegiate and adult athletic activities.