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Hyster-Yale Materials Handling Corporation announces a new solution designed to help promote social distancing measures as businesses reopen, using sensors embedded in tags that buzz when personnel get within six feet of one another. Employees can simply wear the electronic tags on a lanyard, similar to building or equipment access cards, offering a minimally intrusive solution that only makes its presence known when providing a proximity alert.

In recognition of National Hot Dog Day on July 22, members of the North American Meat Institute (NAMI or the Meat Institute) are working with Feeding America to donate more than 325,000 hot dogs to food banks across the nation for people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perdue Farms, with a $100,000 grant from the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, has partnered with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank headquartered in Verona, Virginia, to establish two high school food pantries in the Shenandoah Valley. The “Good Food School Market” has continued to provide students and families in need with access to nutritious food since schools closed in March amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

EnerSys, a global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications, has continued operations through the COVID-19 pandemic while respecting health guidelines and regulatory compliance to ensure the safety of its employees and customers. In an effort to promote safer business practices both in its facilities and in the field, the company has implemented enhanced hygiene and social distancing procedures to mitigate the risk of contracting or spreading the virus.

Editor-in-Chief Michael Costa details how 2019's idea of cold chain disruption pales in comparison to COVID-19's seismic impact on the industry in 2020.  

Plant-based food sales were already growing before COVID-19, and the category has long enjoyed a healthy halo around its products as beneficial to both consumers and the environment. However, a closer look at some of the labels for plant-based meats, for example, reveal they’re not much healthier than their animal-based counterparts, particularly when it comes to saturated fat, sodium, and the highly processed method of re-creating the taste and texture of an animal protein. Because of this, we’re currently on the cusp of a second era in alternative meats that will continue to focus on flavor, but also honor their “better-for-you” halos with simpler ingredients and minimal processing.  

 Perdue Farms has delivered more than 1.5 million pounds of protein — or six million servings — to food banks and hunger-relief efforts, exceeding its commitment to donate a minimum of one million pounds of protein to support communities where it conducts business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The effort is part of Perdue’s “Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors” hunger-relief initiative.

Flowers Foods, producer of Nature’s Own, Wonder, Tastykake, Dave’s Killer Bread, and other bakery foods, today announced that it has temporarily stopped production at its bakery in Savannah, Georgia due to an increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases within its production staff and in the number of those self-quarantining. The bakery’s shipping, engineering, sanitation, and office teams continue to work at the facility, but 115 production employees have been furloughed. Flowers will pay furloughed production employees and ask those employees to shelter-in-place until the bakery resumes production. 

Conagra Brands, one of North America's leading food companies, is celebrating the summer with the debut of more than two dozen new products. More people are cooking and eating at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Birds Eye, Marie Callender's, Healthy Choice and Snack Pack are among the brands bringing new items to market to satisfy evolving consumer needs. 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) has given more than $17.5 million to its over 15,000 employee-partners which includes a second round of gift cards delivered to all active employees. Full-time employees are receiving a $200 BGC gift card and part-time employees are receiving a $100 BGC gift card totaling $1.9 million.