Proud to Work for Animal Food Manufacturers Who Give Back

Written by: Sarah Novak   |   December 13, 2019

Supporting local communities

When I went to college, I thought I wanted to be a veterinarian, but where I actually ended up - at times working for a few companies who made animal feed and now working for the trade association representing those companies - turned out to be so much better!

When I graduated, I didn’t know much about the animal food industry but I had several great mentors in Sharon, Al, Andy, Bob, Trevor and Chris to really show me what it means to work for farmers and ranchers. And now with the advent of social media, I’m even more proud of the work American Feed Industry Association members do as I can see what they are doing not only for their customers, the farmers and ranchers, but for the communities they are working in as well.

Across America, farmers, ranchers and those involved in agriculture work together in times of prosperity and in crisis. This sense of responsibility and compassion for one another is woven into the fabric of those of us who work in the agricultural community. But it doesn’t stop there. It also extends to being good citizens, engaged in the communities where we live. In this season of giving back, many of our members are hard at work in their own local communities.

Cooper Farms’ family foundation was recently honored by the M.A.V. Youth Mentoring in Celina, Ohio, for their support of the program. Earlier this fall, they donated money to help a local children’s park become more inclusive for children of all abilities!

The F.L. Emmert Company has been a family-owned business since 1881. With service being one of their core beliefs, they take pride in “taking care in our circles, big and small.” They are committed to doing their part to improve the quality of life in the communities they do business in by supporting initiatives in three key areas: youth, health and education and urban renewal.

Several of our pet food manufacturing companies give back to local pet shelters around the U.S. Hill’s Pet Nutrition donates pet food to more than 800 shelters, which totals out to be more than $290 million in products to feed more than 9 million pets. Royal Canin has a puppies for parole program which works with the Missouri Department of Corrections' Restorative Justice Program that aims to find forever homes for dogs living in Missouri animal shelters.

A common problem in most food assistance programs is a lack of protein for individuals. In 2010, United Animal Health and the Midwest Food Bank decided to work together to help solve this problem and created the Promise for Protein, which helps their network of more than 300 food banks, pantries and shelters across the state of Indiana provide healthy protein for people in need.

These are just a few examples of how AFIA members give back to communities. I am proud to work for companies that not only help provide safe and wholesome meat, milk and eggs to the world, but also go above and beyond to care for one another. One of AFIA’s four pillars of sustainability focuses on supporting local communities and I can say with pride that our members do so every day!