Hormel Foods Invests in Community’s Future with New State-of-the-Art Childcare Facility

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May 7, 2024

Austin, Minn.

The Inspired Beginnings Learning Academy will serve up to 130 children of its team members and community residents throughout Mower County.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company, today celebrated the official opening of its new $5 million, 13,000-square foot childcare center in Austin, Minnesota. Hormel Foods joins a small but growing number of employers across the nation that are offering childcare to provide a needed service for team members and to recruit working parents in today’s tight labor market.

“At Hormel Foods, we are always striving to ensure Austin and the surrounding areas are a prime destination for top talent,” said Angie Bissen, Human Resources manager for Hormel Foods. “One of the main insights gathered from our research and from other employers in the area is the critical importance of accessible childcare options. The Inspired Beginnings Learning Academy is one of the many contributors to vibrant economic development in our community.”

Operated in partnership with Bright Horizons, the country’s largest provider of employer-sponsored childcare, the Inspired Beginnings Learning Academy will serve up to 130 children, ages six months – school age. The center will feature a Discovery Driven Learning™ approach to inspire curiosity, health and safety policies backed by experts, as well as educator-created curriculum to support school readiness.

“Bright Horizons is proud to partner with Hormel Foods to provide a high-quality childcare center for their team members,” said Bryson McCargar, center director, Inspired Beginnings Learning Academy. “We’re excited to be a part of the first stage of learning for their team members’ children here at the center. All of our programs are geared to ensure children have the language, math, science and social skills they need for elementary school, and we’re also able to help parents incorporate learning experiences in their children’s home life as well.”

The Inspired Beginnings Learning Academy will be open Monday through Friday from 6:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. To learn more about the Inspired Beginnings Learning Academy, visit http://www.brighthorizons.com/inspiredbeginnings.

About Hormel Foods – Inspired People. Inspired Food.™

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters^®, Skippy^®, SPAM^®, Hormel^® Natural Choice^®, Applegate^®, Justin’s^®, Wholly^®, Hormel^® Black Label^®, Columbus^®, Jennie-O^® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of the best companies to work for by U.S. News & World Report, one of America’s most responsible companies by Newsweek, recognized on Fast Company’s list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators, received a perfect score of 100 on the 2023–24 Corporate Equality Index and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement — Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ — to bring some of the world’s most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit hormelfoods.com.

About Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc.

Bright Horizons^® is a leading global provider of high-quality early education and childcare, back-up care, and workforce education services. For more than 30 years, we have partnered with employers to support workforces by providing services that help working families and employees thrive personally and professionally. Bright Horizons operates over 1,000 early education and childcare centers in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, India, and Australia and serves more than 1,450 of the world’s leading employers. Bright Horizons’ early education and childcare centers, back-up child and elder care, and workforce education programs help employees succeed at each life and career stage. For more information, go to www.brighthorizons.com.