The program is for children on the free or reduced lunch program during the school year. The Hope Center, along with the United Way, The Salvation Army, local churches and other organizations host the program, which provides transportation, lunch, a learning curriculum, games and other activities. The facility donated $10,000 to the Hope Center in 2017.
“We are inspired by The Hope Center and their efforts to fight hunger in our community, and we are honored to join them in that fight,” said Steve Weers, plant manager, Fremont Plant. “The Hope Center for Kids provides a safe after-school and summer program where children and youth can take part in academic support, youth development, employment training and receive a hot meal. I would like to thank our employees, whose dedication and hard work make it possible for us to help those in need. We are impacting the lives of our neighbors through the power of food. We are excited to help do our part in making a difference.”
The Hope Center has been supporting children for 20 years; helping children and youth see beyond their circumstances. In 2014, the Omaha Hope Center expanded to Fremont, which has grown the number of children and families served to 2,700 each year.
The Summer Lunch Program, with the support of The Hope Fremont, provides meals to children, youth and families during the summer. The number served has been between 500 and 700 for the past few years.
This is the eighth consecutive year Hormel Foods has given funds to its locations to share with nonprofits in their respective communities to fight hunger. In 2017, Hormel Foods donated $300,000 to local hunger relief organizations in 30 U.S. communities, bringing the program’s total contribution to local hunger relief efforts to more than $2 million thus far. Through this program as well as disaster relief efforts and other donations, Hormel Foods contributed $5.4 million in cash and product donations to help address hunger in 2017.
“Hormel Foods is committed to fighting hunger in communities around the world where our employees work and live,” said Wendy Watkins, vice president of corporate communications at Hormel Foods. “By working with organizations at a local level, our locations have found great success in helping meet their community’s unique needs to help end hunger.”
Additional information about the company’s fiscal 2017 hunger relief efforts is available in the Hormel Foods 2017 Corporate Responsibility Report.
