Cooper Farms has donated over $1 million in monetary and product donations in the past year to its local communities. The company donated 207,000 pounds of product, a value of $748,000, to area food banks and organizations and the Cooper Family Foundation provided $554,913 in funding to area organizations, students and more.
“Giving back to the community is something my parents always believed in,” said Gary Cooper, Cooper Farms COO. “Since day one, we’ve made it a priority to donate time, money and products where we can. We are honored to be able to make a difference in the communities where we and our team members live and do business.”
The Cooper Family Foundation was started in 2002 and has provided well over $7 million in funding. The foundation is run by the Cooper Farms family stockholders and funding decisions are made by a committee. Their primary goal is to ensure they are supporting local initiatives that benefit the community.
This year, $16,700 went toward college scholarships for area students, while other funds went toward purchasing new fire department vehicles and equipment, funding area school programs and field trips, county fairgrounds and much more.
As a meat and egg company, Cooper Farms is keenly aware of the value of protein in the American diet. For food banks, having enough protein to provide to the families that need the nutrition is often a challenge.
“It means a lot to us and these organizations that we can provide over 400,000 meals with the meat we’ve donated this past year,” said Cooper.
For the Cooper family, it all comes down to being thankful for the communities and team members that have supported them all these years.
“This Thanksgiving, we appreciate the people who have helped us achieve our success and are happy to give to them in thanks for all they do,” said Cooper.
