Salisbury, MD, Feb. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perdue Farms, a leader in the food and agriculture industry, has teamed up with Feeding America to tackle the heightened food insecurity challenge that further impacts families with an extra day this Leap Year. To do this, the company will deliver over 70 tractor trailer loads of its No Antibiotics Ever chicken across the U.S., providing 3.3 million pounds of chicken, or roughly 2.75 million servings.

Nearly 44 million people, including 13 million children, experience food insecurity in the U.S.¹ Because Leap Year includes an extra day on Thursday, February 29, it also poses an extra day for people facing hunger to secure food for themselves and their families. Studies show that in 2022, more than 10 million households included adults who reported cutting the size of their meals or skipping meals because there wasn’t enough money for food².

The donation, part of Perdue’s Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors® outreach, aims to alleviate the strain on families facing hunger, in addition to filling an urgent need at food banks, with Feeding America reporting a 500-million-pound protein gap³ within its network.

“Perdue Farms remains unwavering in our mission to help nourish communities experiencing food insecurity,” said Kevin McAdams, CEO of Perdue Farms. “We understand there are great challenges these families face, especially with the addition of Leap Day. We are committed to alleviating hunger across the country and, as a 104-year-old food company, providing essential protein to those in need.”

Perdue Farms’ Leap Day donation will be available to the 198 food banks in Feeding America’s network, including those areas where Perdue associates live and work, such as Atlanta Community Food Bank (Atlanta, GA), Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (Charlotte, NC), Maryland Food Bank (Baltimore, MD), Food Bank of Siouxland (Sioux City, IA), Mid-South Food Bank (Memphis, TN) and more.​ Feeding America will also ensure Perdue’s donation is distributed to counties with the highest food insecurity rates ⁴, including Kusilvak Census Area (AK), Wolf County, Harlan County and Magoffin County (KY), East Carroll County (LA), Holmes County and Humphreys County (MS), Todd County and Oglala Lakota County (SD) and Presido County (TX).

“The movement to end hunger takes dedicated partnerships that help us meet the needs and desires of our neighbors so they can thrive,” said Linda Nageotte, Feeding America’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “We are grateful for Perdue Farms’ generous commitment, which will have an immediate impact by providing access to nutritious protein for people facing hunger.”

Additionally, to further its effort to help feed families across the nation, Perdue is offering consumers 29 percent off all orders of $99 or more on PerdueFarms.com with the code LEAP29 through 11:59 PM ET on Leap Day, Thursday, February 29.

Perdue and Feeding America hope their actions will inspire other companies and individuals to make donations to their local food banks this Leap Day. To learn more about Perdue Farms’ commitment to nourishing communities in need and the history of their partnership with Feeding America, through the company initiative Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors®, visit corporate.perduefarms.com/responsibility/people/community/

1: USDA: Food Security Status of U.S. Households in 2022
2: USDA: Statistical Supplement to Household Food Security in the United States in 2022
3: 2021 Feeding America study of supply and demand for agri food products sourced by the Feeding America network.
4: According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap Study

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. Perdue Foods consists of a premium protein portfolio, including our flagship PERDUE® brand, Niman Ranch®, Coleman Natural®, and Yummy®, as well as our pet brands, Spot Farms® and Full Moon®, and is available through various channels including retail, foodservice, club stores, and our direct-to-consumer website, PerdueFarms.com. 

Perdue AgriBusiness is a leading merchandiser, processor, and exporter of agricultural products and the largest U.S. manufacturer of specialty, organic, and non-GMO oils. It also ranks as one of the largest suppliers of organic feed ingredients in the world. Now in our company’s second century, 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 and in USDA-certified organic proteins. Learn more at Corporate.PerdueFarms.com.

About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 5.3 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

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• Perdue Farms Joins Forces with Feeding America® to Help Fill the Leap Day Food Gap

Libby Foxman
Perdue Farms
libby.foxman@perdue.com