In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Cargill and Rumba Meats, its food brand focused on celebrating tradition and family, is recognizing Hispanic cultural contributions to the U.S. Throughout the month of September, Rumba Meats will donate proceeds from purchases to empower future Hispanic leaders through its scholarship program in partnership with the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI).

Celebrating Hispanic Contributions
For Hispanics, Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to strengthen personal connections to culture, especially for parents, who strongly value the occasion as an opportunity to share cultural experiences with their children through food, according to research conducted on Hispanics' views of Hispanic Heritage Month. (Cargill Proprietary Research, November 2020)

“Rumba Meats is choosing Hispanic Heritage Month as an opportunity to acknowledge the many cultural contributions of the Hispanic community to society, and to embrace the richness of the cultures it honors,” said Hilary Gerard, Cargill's retail brands marketing director for its North American protein business. “Celebrating Hispanic culture is not confined to a month, and we are dedicated to recognizing our Hispanic team members, and communities throughout the year.”

To encourage celebration, Rumba Meats is raising awareness of Hispanic contributions to America through shared stories from team members, partners, and past Rumba and USHLI scholarship recipients, including:

• Luz Magaña, scholarship coordinator, USHLI: “Spanish is by far the most spoken non-English language in the U.S. today. The Hispanic culture and language impacted our county even before we became a nation. The names of many cities and states such as Colorado, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Fe, and numerous others are Spanish words. Our Hispanic culture and language are so interwoven into American life that it has become common or familiar. Our rich culture and language are important contributions to the United States.”
• Teresa Barajas (@teresa_), Lifestyle Influencer: “Food is integral to Mexican culture. My grandfather had a birria stand in Jalisco, where only one dish was served, birria. People would visit him from all over Jalisco to enjoy his cooking. Today birria has made its influence into America, rising in popularity across the country. My grandfather's stories and culinary traditions have profoundly influenced my life and the recipes I create for my family and friends.”
• Raúl Sánchez Sandfort, Cargill Hispanic Latino Council Member & Supply Chain Associate: “At a time when embracing cultural differences is critical, Latinos are celebrating what makes our culture strong. It is not just one nationality, race, language or heritage, but a shared identity of our countries, experiences and spirit, and we celebrate that throughout the year.”

For many who celebrate, dinner with family and friends is the single most popular activity during Hispanic Heritage Month (Cargill Proprietary Research, November 2020), and Rumba Meats is partnering with influencers to share recipes and stories behind the meals and tastes that Hispanic culture has contributed to the U.S., on the brand's website and social media channels.

Leadership Starts Here
For the third consecutive year, Rumba Meats is partnering with the USHLI, providing 25 scholarships of $1,000 for post-secondary education to high school seniors across the country. Since 2019, Rumba Meats has invested $150,000 in scholarships and funding for USHLI's Student Leadership Series program which serves more than 85,000 high school students, in more than 25 states, annually.

“Hispanic undergraduate enrollment is increasing, however financial investment is a primary barrier for most,” said Dr. Juan Andrade, Jr., Founder, United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. “Access to higher education is helping to build future Hispanic leaders, and the continued investment from Rumba Meats is helping provide students access to education and to build towards a successful future.”

In 2020, the scholarship program awarded 25 scholarships to students in 14 states. Scholarship recipient Juliana Garcia shared, “I thought I would have to postpone my university ambitions due to monetary setbacks, but thanks to foundations such as the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute and Rumba Meats and its scholarship program, it will enable me to pursue my education in Mathematics and Teaching.”

“I am constantly inspired by the stories and accomplishments we hear from scholarship recipients through our partnership with the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute," added Gerard. "We are proud to support the Hispanic community and look forward to empowering a new group of student leaders through this year's program.”

High school seniors across the U.S. are invited to apply for the Rumba Meats Scholarship between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30. To learn more about the scholarship program, including eligibility criteria and how to complete the application, students can visit: http://www.ushli.org/rumba/.

Source: Cargill/Rumba Meats