Fighting Hunger in 2015 – Employees celebrate 150th anniversary by continuing a legacy of helping the world thrive 

Every year, Cargill employees contribute their time, skills, voices and other resources to help Cargill in its commitment to serving our communities. 

The year 2015 was no different. The Cargill community commemorated the company’s 150th anniversary by taking on the challenge of fighting hunger.

The “150 Ways Cargill Fights Hunger” campaign showcased many diverse ways Cargill employees worked to end hunger between September (Hunger Action Month), and the end of 2015, including World Food Day. The goal was to log 150 projects – and that goal was met before the year-end deadline.

Tackling issues of malnutrition and hunger in our communities cannot be accomplished alone; Employees and locations collaborated with local and global partners to reach the goal. 
We are continually thankful for all the non-profits and NGOs that extend the reach of our efforts. Here are two examples:

The World Food Programme

For 15 years, the partnership between Cargill and the World Food Program (WFP) USA has helped address issues of hunger and malnutrition and provided vital support to emergency relief efforts, globally. During the World Food Day activities of 2015, Cargill and the WFP encouraged contributions to support school meal programs in Cargill communities. Cargill locations raised $185,000, which also counted as participation in the “150 Ways Cargill Fights Hunger” campaign. 

Examples of the impact, globally:

• In Nicaragua, and Honduras, chronic malnutrition rates are above 35 percent. In Nicaragua, funds will help establish 30 gardens at WFP-targeted schools . In Honduras the funds will support a school feeding program in three municipalities where WFP is promoting bio-fortified maize and beans to improve children’s nutritional status.
• In Kenya, WFP will have additional resources to target two primary schools in Baringo County. The funds will help establish sustainable school gardens and integrate basic agricultural and nutrition education.
• In the Eastern Province of Zambia, Cargill’s will continue its investment in a school where WFP launched a successful innovative program linking education, nutrition, community development and environmental sustainability. The donated funds will enable WFP to expand the home-grown school feeding model and enable additional food crops to be grown.

Feeding America:

As a key player in the food industry, Cargill is able to leverage its size and connections to help end food insecurity through product donations.

In 2015, Cargill took action against hunger by donating 1.5 million pounds of food. That number includes the 618,000 pounds of meat, sauces, frozen vegetables, and eggs Cargill donated to Feeding America, a network of member food banks in the United States that secures and distributes food for hungry families. Many donations took place during the “150 Ways…” campaign.

Overall, Cargill helped provide about 1.2 million meals to the 50 million Americans who are living at risk of hunger every day.

US Donation Highlights:

• Westwego, LA: Cargill donated 800 turkeys to support a growing need in the community around the Holidays.
• Springdale, AR: Cargill donated 30,000 pounds of turkey breast meat to a regional food bank in Northwest Arkansas.
• Wichita, KS: Cargill donated over 2,400 turkeys to the Kansas Food Bank.
• Milwaukee, WI: In December, Cargill Beef in Milwaukee donated almost 13,000 lbs of ground beef to their local Feeding America food bank.

How we got to 150 Ways…

Cargill documented great work all around the world to demonstrate at least 150 Ways we serve communities. By serving at soup kitchens, helping with harvests, distributing care packages and running marathons, more than 2,200 employees participated in activities to fight hunger.

Upwards of 6,000 volunteer hours were reported. Beneficiaries included churches, the Salvation Army, food banks, schools and various other charitable organizations. More than 23,000 meals were served in Cargill’s EMEA locations (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) alone. In the Asia Pacific region, Cargill funded about $70,000 in projects that distributed food or raised awareness of food safety and how to limit food waste.

In completing the projects, another anniversary-related milestone was met: Participants represented more than 150 Cargill locations.