This small town nestled between the Rock River and Turtle Creek is where several inspired Hormel Foods team members call home
Nestled between the Rock River and Turtle Creek lies Beloit, a beautiful Wisconsin town near the Illinois border. In the early 19th century, several hundred Ho-Chunk Indians called the Rock County area home. They soon abandoned their settlement in 1832 after the Black Hawk War. A very interesting part of Beloit’s history is that Private Abraham Lincoln set up camp in Beloit during the Black Hawk War.
In 1836, Dr. Horace White arrived from New England and began to buy up the land around the Rock River. Before you could blink an eye, several family and friends were populating the rolling landscape. Schools and churches began to develop, and in 1846 the cornerstone of Beloit College was laid. Fast forward to today, and this once small town is now a blooming city buzzing with activity year-round.
Beloit’s riverfront is a treat in the summertime. You can go for a walk, play tennis, watch the boats go by, play in the park with your family or just sit and relax on a bench or dock. Everyone takes pride in keeping this beloved area clean and neat.
Friends of Riverfront is a community group that was formed in 1995 to preserve and protect the lovely banks of the Rock River. There is a group called the Bloomin’ Bunch whose members plant flowers and gardens along the riverfront. They also put on several events in the summer for residents to enjoy, drawing the town together for an evening of fun that includes concerts, dancing in the park or a movie night on the big lawn.
The Tiffany Stone Bridge on Turtle Creek in Beloit, Wis.
Located on the bluffs of the Rock River, Big Hill Park boasts 190-acres of nature and hiking trails, an environmental education center, a two sheltered picnic areas, restrooms, playground equipment, cross-country ski trails, softball, sand volleyball and a scenic overlook with spectacular vistas.
While driving by Beloit on the interstate, travelers can locate the plant by its iconic HORMEL® chili can.
The Beloit Plant has been a part of this blossoming community since 1972. In the last 45-plus years, the plant has contributed to the sustainability of the community in many ways.
The team at the plant gives many monetary donations to the United Way and Relay For Life organizations. They participate in the Adopt A Highway program and have many volunteers from the plant who help keep the interstate clean. They also conduct schoolsupply and clothing drives to help those in need.
Most recently, the Beloit Plant was recognized as the first runner-up in the Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards Program at the 2018 ProFood Live conference. The initiative that earned this award was a solid-waste-stream improvement project that resulted in 120 tons of material being diverted from the landfill, compared to the year prior. The entries were judged on environmental impact, social significance, project efficiency, cost-effectiveness and originality or adaptive reuse of technology.
The Beloit Plant is also proud that the company’s SPAMMY® product is made there. SPAMMY® is the fortified poultry product that Hormel Foods created to support the nutritional needs of children in Guatemala. Since the inception of Project SPAMMY® in 2010, the Beloit Plant has produced over 19.5 million cans of SPAMMY®. Each year, Hormel Foods donates more than 2 million cans to Guatemala and holds three to four employee engagement trips for team members and their guests to learn more about the project and engage with the families and children who are receiving this product. In addition, the company has helped open 24 chispa centers, which are learning centers for children.
“I will tell you that the trip to Guatemala with Project SPAMMY®was the experience of a lifetime and definitely changed my life. I have a new outlook on life,” said Dipal EauClaire, former human resources manager at the Beloit Plant. “We had a few people who had gone on the trip before and were close to the chispa center they had started. We decided to go in and see how the kids were doing, and they were so much more upbeat and active, thanks to the involvement of Project SPAMMY®.”
The desire to give back and keep Beloit a wonderful place to live is very apparent throughout the entire community. You can feel the energy and vibrancy of the town the minute you step foot there. It is no wonder the people who live in Beloit love to call it home.
Riverfront in Rock County
This small town nestled between the Rock River and Turtle Creek is where several inspired Hormel Foods team members call home
This article was featured in Issue VII of Inside Hormel Foods magazine. Click here to explore these unique collections of thought-provoking and heartwarming stories, recipes and features on our employees and the different areas of our company, all packaged up in a beautifully designed digital viewer for you.