As part of a commitment to combat food insecurity, Perdue Farms has delivered a $25,000 grant to support the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore school backpack program and 10,000 pounds of nutritious chicken products to feed food insecure families in rural Virginia.

The grant from the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, the company's charitable giving arm, and donation of chicken are part of the company's Delivering Hope to Our Neighbours initiative focussed on improving quality of life and building strong communities.

"Our BackPack Program provides food-insecure children with nutritious and easy-to-prepare food at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations," said Christopher Tan, president and CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore. "Backpacks containing six healthy, child-friendly meals are discreetly handed out to the participating children at each distribution."

The Foodbank backpack program serves roughly 3,600 children across 65 schools, seven of which are on the Eastern Shore. It provides 16,524 meals for 152 children attending public elementary schools in the region.

Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation, praised the work of Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

"Backpack food delivery programs are an important cornerstone program of the Foodbank's efforts to address childhood hunger," she said. "We believe none of our neighbors should go hungry so helping provide food each weekend to children facing food insecurity through this wonderful program is a meaningful investment."