At this time last year, we at Refrigerated & Frozen Foods decided to put our annual Foodservice Distributor of the Year Award on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated unprecedented shutdowns in foodservice—restaurants, hotels, schools, caterers, stadiums, and other volume venues—leaving behind thousands of shuttered businesses. To put it lightly, there was very little to celebrate in foodservice last year.

Smithfield Foods is donating 40,000 pounds of protein to New Orleans via a truck shipment to support hunger relief in the wake of catastrophic damage inflicted by Hurricane Ida, one of the most intense hurricanes to ever strike Louisiana, which left nearly a million residents without power or water on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

United Family stores Albertsons Market and Market Street presented New Mexico's Roadrunner Food Bank with a check for $46,373.87 following a statewide donate-at-the-register fundraiser campaign.

Perdue Farms has donated 42,000 pounds of chicken to help the Kingdom Worship Center in Baltimore in its ongoing mission to provide nutritious meals to underserved families amid the pandemic. The donation, which helped feed 5,000 families, is part of Perdue’s “Delivering Hope To Our Neighbors” hunger-relief initiative.

In 2014, the Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA) proclaimed July as National Deli Salad Month. This designation has been officially recognized and established and each year, throughout the month of July, food manufacturers promote and feature such summer staples as potato salad, macaroni salad, dips, chilled desserts, protein salads, ready to eat sandwiches and more. 

Feed the Children, Americold and Tyson Foods are aligning to rapidly deliver more than 500,000 meals to communities across the U.S. to combat the staggering food insecurity children and families are experiencing due to COVID-19. This unprecedented partnership has produced an innovative distribution model allowing the three organizations to revamp the supply chain and distribute meals more quickly throughout the year to those who need support.

RLS Logistics, a national third-party logistics provider specializing in temperature-controlled logistics, announced their 2020 contribution total for their Pallets 4 Plates program. In 2020, through their program, 365,291 plates of food were supplied to charities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Utah, including Food Cowboy and the Food Bank of South Jersey. Also, equivalent cash contributions were made to Baker’s Club of Philadelphia, American Heart Association, Pink Clover Foundation, numerous local schools, and youth sports teams.

Plant-based food brand Heura has made an in-kind donation to leading UK food charity Refettorio Felix to help provide nutritious plant-based meals to Londoners in need during January. The donation was made to celebrate Veganuary, the global challenge started in the United Kingdom that encourages people around the world to go vegan for the month of January. 400,000 people from 192 countries joined this initiative last year, and over one million people have taken part in the challenge since its inception. 

US Foods announced that since March the company has donated more than $35 million in food and supplies to fight hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic, the equivalent of approximately 17 million meals.

Silk Kids Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative is the latest innovation from Silk, America's number-one plant-based beverage and a leader in yogurt alternatives, and is designed with kids and parents in mind. The new yogurt alternative is fortified with Calcium and Vitamin D to help support strong bones and has 25% less sugar per ounce1 than average flavored yogurt alternatives. Silk Kids Almondmilk Yogurt Alternative is also peanut-free, gluten-free, lactose-free and Non-GMO Project Verified – making it a good allergen-friendly option for lunchtime and snack time. The dairy-free yogurt alternative comes in three delicious flavors including Mixed Berry, Apple Cinnamon and Strawberry, and will be available at select retailers starting December 2020.