MEAT+POULTRY - August 2024 - 82

GIVING BACK
Panda
Restaurant
Group
JBS
As part of JBS USA's $100 million
commitment to make local communities
across the United States and Canada
better places, the company has invested
$3.5 million in the Ottumwa community
through its Hometown Strong program.
" JBS is giving back to the regions
where we operate, " said Zenna Boyd,
HR director for JBS USA in Ottumwa.
" This is our opportunity to invest in the
communities where our employees and
their families live. "
Investments range from developing
housing, including an apartment complex
with 108 below-market-rate units available
to JBS employees and their families, to
contributing to a youth soccer complex
as well as investing in the expansion
of a YMCA daycare. Additionally, JBS
spearheaded projects like the Southeast
Iowa JBS Sports Center, a state-of-the-art
multi-use sports facility, to which it
contributed $1 million.
" Working with the JBS Hometown
Strong team to get the Ottumwa JBS Sports
Center off the ground was a seamless
process, " said Brian Morgan, president of
the Southeast Iowa Sports Commission.
" JBS Hometown Strong money was what
really kicked the whole project off. "
The JBS Hometown Strong program
has contributed to immediate community
needs, including contributing $10,000 to
replace the press box at the Midwest Little
League baseball field when the original
burned down in 2021, and a donation of
$250,000 to fund the purchase of new band
uniforms and upgrades to the gyms and
media centers at Ottumwa High School and
Evans Middle School.
Applegate Farms
Natural and organic meat brand Applegate
Farms LLC, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods
Corp., is partnering with FoodCorps, a
national justice organization working at
the intersection of food and education. The
meat company is donating $50,000 that
will go toward schools where a majority
of students benefit from free school meals,
all based in Applegate Farms' home state
of New Jersey.
" We are honored to support FoodCorps'
visionary work in classrooms, gardens and
cafeterias, educating a new generation
of students on the power of food, " said
Joseph O'Connor, president of Applegate.
" Food systems change only happens when
knowledge is shared equally. FoodCorps'
commitment to empowering young people
82 MEAT+POULTRY | 08.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
to be their own health advocates speaks to
the heart of Applegate's mission: Changing
the Meat We Eat. "
FoodCorps seeks to nourish kids'
health, education and sense of belonging.
Its AmeriCorps members collaborate with
educators and school nutrition leaders to
teach kids about growing, cooking and
eating nourishing food, and to bring more
fresh, local and culturally relevant foods to
school cafeterias.
With more than 100,000 students
reached each year through programming,
FoodCorps' impact is evident. Kids
exposed to more FoodCorps' hands-on
learning activities eat up to three times as
many fruits and vegetables as those who
receive less of those activities.
Andrew and Peggy
Cherng - founders,
co-chairs and co-chief
executive officers of the
Panda Restaurant Group
Inc., which includes the
Panda Express chain -
pledged $5 million to the
University of Missouri
Honors College through
the Panda Charitable
Family Foundation.
The Cherngs, alumni
of MU, seek to support
premier scholarships
and programming for
university students
through the funding.
With this pledge,
total giving to the
university from the
Panda Charitable Family
Foundation comes to
over $10 million.
" We're grateful to
Andrew and Peggy
Cherng for their
incredible, ongoing
support of MU Honors
students, " said Mun
Choi, MU president.
" This latest investment
in student success
allows us to provide
even more impactful
opportunities through
our Honors College and
to secure Mizzou's spot
as one of the top public
universities in the nation
for future leaders. "
Since 2017, funding
from the Panda
Charitable Family
Foundation has
supported Show-Me
Scholars, Cherng
Scholars, Panda-Mizzou
Scholars, and Cherng
Summer Scholars.
JBS USA
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MEAT+POULTRY - August 2024

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