Foster Farms Kicks Off “Pass the Plate” Food Donation Program at Foothill Unity Center

To commemorate its 75th anniversary, Foster Farms launched its “Pass the Plate” West Coast meal donation program at Foothill Unity Center’s Pasadena location yesterday. Local families of four received the first of the company’s summer meal donations and learned first-hand of Foster Farms’ commitment to helping feed people in need this summer.

Starting today, Foster Farms will be distributing weekly complete chicken dinners to 75 needy families of four in each of seven West Coast cities, in partnership with local food banks. Foster Farms has also committed to help feed an additional 75,000 people based on consumer participation in its online share program. For every “Pass the Plate” social media share at Take75.com, Foster Farms will help donate chicken for one meal to local food banks.

The company is rolling out the program to focus greater awareness on food insecurity in the country and encourage others to join in helping to address this issue. According to a recent modern dinner survey of 2,000 West Coast consumers commissioned by Foster Farms, more than one-third of families are unaware that 49 million Americans, nearly 15 percent of American households, do not have enough to eat — a condition food assistance organizations call “food insecure.”

Foothill Unity Center, a partner of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, is the only Los Angeles area distribution site for the program. Other partners are food banks in San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco-Marin and Manteca, California; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon.

“On behalf of our client families, we’re delighted to be a beneficiary of Foster Farms’ commitment to giving back to local communities,” said Foothill Unity Center Executive Director Betty McWilliams. “This generous donation of chicken dinners with all the fixings will help sustain 75 families we serve with protein-rich meals throughout the summer — a time when parents can’t rely on school lunches to help feed their children.”

“Pass the Plate” is part of Foster Farms’ new Take 75 program, a movement focused on encouraging people to take at least 75 minutes each week to get back to basics and enjoy meals with family and friends. “As a family-owned business, family is at the heart of Foster Farms,” said Ira Brill, the company’s director of communications. “We believe that all families deserve to connect with each other over a family meal. If we can play a small part in putting dinner on the table for families in need so they can focus on what really matters – time together – then our “Pass the Plate” program will be a success.”

About Foothill Unity Center

Founded in 1980, Foothill Unity Center is the primary provider of food, case management/crisis help, and access to health care resources across eleven San Gabriel Valley cities. As the federally designated Community Action Agency for the Foothill Area, it operates two locations, in Monrovia and Pasadena, serving clients in Pasadena, Altadena, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, Arcadia, Monrovia, Bradbury, Duarte, Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale. 77% of clients are at or below the National Poverty Level. The number of people it serves has more than tripled over the last five years, making community funding contributions and volunteer support more critical than ever.

About Foster Farms

Family-owned and operated since 1939, Foster Farms continues its legacy of excellence and commitment to quality established by its founders, Max and Verda Foster. The company specializes in fresh, all natural chicken products free of preservatives, additives or injected sodium enhancers. Based in the Central Valley with ranches in the Pacific Northwest, the company produces fresh chicken in or near each region it serves and delivers it fresh within 48 hours. Foster Farms has long provided community support through a variety of initiatives including scholarship programs, grants, volunteer programs and support of families needing food assistance. It also makes Thanksgiving dinner possible for thousands of West Coast families each year through donations of Thanksgiving turkeys to local food banks.