Perdue Farms and Maryland Food Bank Pack Holiday Meals for Families in Need

SALISBURY, Md. – For the fifth consecutive year, associates from Perdue Farms packed hundreds of holiday meals for families in need as part of the Maryland Food Bank – Eastern Shore’s Pack To Give Back Local event sponsored by Perdue Farms. Earlier this month, two separate meal packing events – one at the food bank’s facility in Salisbury and one at Emmanuel Wesleyan Church here – brought together associates, their families and community volunteers to pack more than 1,200 meal bags for our local neighbors in need.

“This is always a wonderful event,” said Kim Nechay, executive director of the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. “At Perdue, we believe that no one should go hungry and Pack to Give Back is a way for us to involve our associates in addressing this belief and taking action together to pack bags to hopefully make the holidays a little happier for those in need. We are very proud to again sponsor this event and partner with the Maryland Food Bank to make it happen.”

Paired with turkeys, the meal bags contained traditional holiday fixings such as cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. They will be distributed to soup kitchens, pantries, and shelters across the Shore in November and December, ensuring happy holidays for families who might otherwise go without.

This marks the fifth year that Perdue Farms has sponsored this holiday event through a generous $10,000 donation from its charitable giving arm, the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. Donations totaling $5,000 from associates at Perdue AgriBusiness also helped fund the cost of food items in each bag.

“We are truly grateful for the support provided by Perdue Farms and Perdue AgriBusiness during this year’s Pack to Give Back Local campaign,” said Jennifer Small, managing director for the Maryland Food Bank’s Eastern Branch. “Thanks to business partners like Perdue, we’re able to provide thousands of Marylanders on the Eastern Shore the opportunity to enjoy a meal this holiday season.”

Through events scheduled in other counties across the state, including central and western Maryland facilities, more than 44,000 meals will be distributed as part of this holiday effort.