As part of a company commitment to hunger relief, Perdue Farms teamed with the Delmarva Shorebirds—the Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles—and three Delmarva food banks for the annual season-long 2016 Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva to deliver more than 154,000 meals across Delmarva communities.
The 2016 Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva provided the forum to continue the awareness and community engagement that began with Perdue’s sponsorship of the 2011 South Atlantic League “Perdue Strike Out Hunger All-Star Game” promotions. Since then, the Shorebirds and food banks have embraced the Strike Out Hunger Challenge to generate nearly 700,000 meal equivalents for those in need on Delmarva.
To drive this year’s Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva, Perdue Farms issued a $15,000 challenge grant funded by the Perdue Foundation—the charitable giving arm of the company—to benefit the Eastern Shore Branch of the Maryland Food Bank, the Food Bank of Delaware, and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.
Each of the food banks were required to engage the Delmarva community to raise the equivalent of 10,000 meals in order to claim their equal share of the first $10,000 of the foundation challenge grant. This included any combination of pounds of food collected, funds collected and donated, or volunteer hours throughout the Shorebirds’ season.
Perdue also donated $10 for each time the Shorebirds’ pitchers struck out an opposing batter up to $5,000.
The Food Bank of Delaware generated more than 65,500 meal equivalents in support of the Strike Out Hunger Challenge this year.
The Maryland Food Bank campaign produced more than 40,500 meals this year.
Jennifer Small, managing director of the Eastern Shore Branch of the Maryland Food Bank in Salisbury, said, “Through collaborations such as these, the Maryland Food Bank can continue to educate our community on local needs, local programs, and work collectively with individuals and organizations striving to strike out hunger on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, one meal at a time. We are very fortunate to have such long-standing community relationships and thank Perdue and the Shorebirds for their continued service and support.”
Learn more at www.perduefarms.com.
