Perdue’s Strike Out Hunger Challenge hits a record

Perdue Farms teamed up with a Maryland-based minor league baseball team to amass a record 688,536 meal equivalents that were then given to three Delmarva Peninsula food banks.

This was done as part of the Strike Out Hunger Challenge with the Delmarva Shorebirds Class A minor league baseball team, a partnership that has been in place since 2011. In that time, more than 2.3 million meals have been given to those in need in the Delmarva region, which refers to Delaware and the nearby areas of Maryland and Virginia.

According to Perdue, on average one in seven people on the Delmarva Peninsula is challenged by food insecurity, and one third of that food-insecure population is children.

“As economic challenges continue to bring so much uncertainty to individuals and families struggling with food insecurity on Delmarva, we’re thrilled by the results of this year’s Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva campaign,” said Kim Nechay, executive director of the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, which helps fund the challenge. “The campaign provides a collaborative platform to raise public awareness about the problem of hunger and food insecurity and deliver much-needed relief in the Delmarva communities where we live and work.”

The Strike Out Hunger campaign is part of Perdue Farms’ Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors outreach, which aims to improve quality of life and build strong communities, especially during Hunger Action Month in September.

To drive this year’s Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva, Perdue Farms issued a $15,000 challenge grant funded by the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Foundation — the charitable giving arm of the company — to benefit the Maryland Food Bank, the Food Bank of Delaware and the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

Each of the food banks are required to engage the Delmarva community to raise the equivalent of 10,000 meals to claim their equal share of the first $10,000 of the Foundation challenge grant. This included any combination of pounds of food collected, monies collected and donated, or volunteer hours throughout the duration of the Shorebirds’ season. Perdue also donated $10 for each time the Shorebirds’ pitchers struck out an opposing batter, up to $5,000.

“The Shorebirds are elated by the collaborative strength of the Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge, especially with the record results this past season,” said Jimmy Sweet, assistant general manager of the Delmarva Shorebirds. “This challenge continues to provide families on Delmarva hope for putting a meal on their table and help ease a difficult burden.”