Perdue Farms hosts Bridgewater virtual town hall to discuss COVID-19

Perdue Farms has hosted virtual town hall-style webinars at locations where it has production operations, including Bridgewater.

The goal is to facilitate an ongoing dialogue regarding COVID-19 with various local community leaders including pastors, healthcare professionals, elected officials, civic organizations, and more.

During the meetings, members of the local Perdue human resources teams shared in detail the incremental safety measures the company has implemented to protect our associates, and answered questions to help ensure understanding and alleviate outstanding concerns.

Perdue also invited meeting attendees to share any suggestions for additional safety measures the company could consider.

“The health and safety of our associates is our number one priority. We have a long history of supporting our associates and the communities where we work and live, and remain dedicated to doing everything we can to safeguard them during COVID-19 and beyond,” said Gary Miller, vice president of human resources at Perdue. “On these webinars, we wanted to ensure that the local leaders in these communities had a good understanding of the safety measures we’ve put in place, give them the opportunity to ask us questions directly, and know they can call us if they have an idea that will further bolster our efforts to protect our associates and neighbors. Good ideas can come from anywhere.”

To date, Perdue has hosted webinars for the communities surrounding its facilities in more than 15 locations.

Feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive of the company’s efforts to prioritize the health of its associates and neighbors.

Following the local webinar, Jerry Hite, former Regional Manager of Bridgewater Foods, commented: “I was extremely impressed with the measures that Perdue has taken to make their team members safe. Many of the steps that were shown were ahead of the CDC requirements and the overall education of the associates was taken seriously by their actions, as I saw Perdue associates in mask and cleaning their hands. My hat is off to Perdue for all you do.”

“We could not have been more pleased with how receptive everyone was to the information we shared, and thoughtful during the discussions. These meetings further reinforce that we share the same care and concern for our local communities as the people who lead them, and we are equally committed to supporting and safeguarding them,” Miller added.

While the federal government has deemed food industry workers as mission-critical personnel, Perdue continues to seek additional ways to protect its associates during COVID-19, including working with the CDC and local health teams to properly assess the situation at each of its facilities to determine the needs and take the appropriate actions to protect our associates and communities, which has included testing in some locations.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service continues to inspect all Perdue Farms products, which are made with the highest standards of safety and quality, as well as the company’s production facilities, which are fully sanitized every 24 hours at minimum.

For current updates on Perdue Farms’ COVID-19 response, click here.