Pilgrim’s Pride this week announced updates to three projects in the ongoing Hometown Strong charitable program in Georgia and West Virginia.
Pilgrim’s announced that the Athens, Georgia YMCA will receive $400,000 to construct a covered pavilion at the local ice hockey arena, an Athens-area Salvation Army will receive $200,000 to turn its thrift store into a six-unit housing shelter, Athens-Clarke County Schools’ career lab will receive $100,000 for expansion, and Madison County High School will receive $80,000 to develop a forestry, horticulture, and agronomy teaching facility.
Additionally, the Sumter School District in Sumter, South Carolina received $245,000 for the Pilgrim’s Mobile STEM Explorer – a refurbished activity bus – and the Liberty STEAM Charter school received $100,000 for programming and facility renovations, according to Meatingplace.
Pilgrim’s also announced $600,000 to the city of Moorefield, West Virginia to add three new basketball courts, a playground, two picnic pavilions, and a splash pad. Hardy County Schools in West Virginia received $109,750 for an indoor recreation center. Hardy County CPR and Training Center received $106,000 to upgrade defibrillators. The Teddy Bear Daycare received $100,000 to expand and add another location in Hardy County.
“The Hometown Strong initiative allows us to invest in our communities in lasting and meaningful ways so that we’re able to positively impact our team members, their families and our neighbors,” Pilgrim’s CEO Fabio Sandri said of the Hometown Strong program.
“We recognize our responsibility as a food company and a large employer, and we believe the Hometown Strong initiative reaffirms our long-standing and deeply rooted commitment to our team members and the rural towns and cities we call home across the country,” JBS USA CEO Andre Nogueira said.
The Hometown Strong program has surpassed $90 million in donations since its inception.
To learn more about Hometown Strong or to view the projects in each state, visit here.
In addition to numerous community investment projects, JBS USA and Pilgrim’s donated more than 22.3 million servings of food in 2020.