Elected officials and community leaders joined with executives and employees from AdvancePierre Foods to celebrate the growth of the company and its commitment to community service. At the company's headquarters, AdvancePierre Foods officially unveiled its new logo and signage, the result of a recent merger that doubled the size of the company to a more than $1.5 billion business. Volunteers then partnered with the Freestore Foodbank to package take-home food items for 500 needy children in the Cincinnati area while other local employees prepared the Hamilton Living Water Ministry, Inc. children's facility for fall activities.

At the event, AdvancePierre Foods' CEO Bill Toler discussed the company's growth throughout the United States as a result of a merger that took place last year and the recent acquisition of Barber Foods in June 2011. He noted that the success of the private sector benefits the community through the creation of jobs and a strong tax base, as well as local nonprofit organizations, like the Freestore Foodbank and Hamilton Living Water Ministry Inc., that receive assistance from burgeoning companies like AdvancePierre Foods.

"The Cincinnati community has embraced our company and our employees for more than 60 years, and we remain committed to supporting growth at our headquarters in Cincinnati as well as in communities where our facilities are located across the country," said Toler. 

The celebration continued during the company's inaugural Volunteer Day event, where employees, families and friends donated time to support local nonprofit organizations. The volunteer activities across the country at eight of AdvancePierre Foods' facilities included packaging items for child feeding programs, assisting with mobile food pantry distribution, organizing items at food pantry warehouses, and sprucing up food bank facilities.

"We are extremely appreciative for local businesses, like AdvancePierre Foods, who come to us with the desire to help neighbors in need in their community," said John Young, CEO of the Freestore Foodbank. "The work of AdvancePierre Foods employees to assemble Power Packs for local children in need of food assistance on the weekend shows their passion and dedication to the community, and we are so thankful."

In addition to the hundreds of hours that AdvancePierre Foods' employees from Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina contributed on Volunteer Day, the company also donated thousands of pounds of AdvancePierre Foods products, including 8,000 pounds of food to feed families and children in Cincinnati.

"We are proud that the Volunteer Day efforts of our employees have provided nutritious meals to thousands of children and families across the country," Toler continued. "This event allows each of us to touch the lives of those facing hunger and make a significant, meaningful impact on the communities we serve."

Source: AdvancePierre Foods