Perdue Farms & Draper Valley Farms Support Skagit Food

As part of a commitment to help its food insecure neighbors, Perdue Farms has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Community Action of Skagit County in Mount Vernon, Washington, through the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. The donation from Perdue’s charitable giving arm is part of the company’s Delivering Hope to Our Neighbors® outreach to improve quality of life and build strong communities.

Perdue Farms is the parent company of Draper Valley Farms in Mount Vernon, home to local brands DRAPER VALLEY FARMS®, ROXY® The Organic Chicken and RANGER® The Free Range Chicken.

The grant supports Community Action’s Skagit Food Distribution Center (SFDC), the centralized distributor of bulk items and fresh food in Skagit, Island, and Snohomish counties in Washington. The center supports 19 food banks and hot meal programs and accounts for up to 80 percent of the items available at local food banks. The program serves 27,500 people monthly.

“Food insecurity affects our region’s most under-resourced populations, including individuals and families facing economic vulnerability, those living within food deserts, and older adults living in isolated areas of rural eastern Skagit County,” said Bill Henkel, Community Action’s executive director.”

“Funding from the Perdue Foundation will support the operations of the SFDC as it works toward its goal of providing more fresh and nutritious food to community members through our region’s food banks and hot meal programs."

Kim Nechay, executive director of the Perdue Foundation, said Skagit Food Distribution Center provides a vital service. “The center helps older adults and families with children and many others in need,” she said. “The Perdue Foundation is happy to support its programs.”