Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company, welcomed esteemed chef, cookbook author and beloved TV personality Carla Hall to its home state to honor nutrition services staff members at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault, Minn., and Austin High School in Austin, Minn., on Jan. 17 and 18.
Hall visited schools in the communities where Hormel Foods team members live and work, including Jennie-O in Faribault, Minn., where alumni of the State Academy for the Deaf are now team members. Hall emphasized the important role schools play in providing balance, dignity and nourishment to students by creating a more food-secure environment. In addition to meeting staff and students at both schools, she honored nutrition services staff members by treating them chef-inspired meals. Hall also showed students and staff how to make her signature biscuits.
In addition to the school visits, Hormel Foods provided a special donation to both schools to purchase some of their wish-list items in their foodservice programs. In Austin, Minnesota, this included the purchase of several breakfast carts to help the foodservice team reach more children in the school.
While in Austin, Hall partnered with Mower County United Way and the Hometown Food Security Project on a backpack-packing event for Austin Public Schools students. There are approximately 500 students at APS who receive additional food support weekly through the backpack program. Hall led the event, which was held at the Hormel Foods world headquarters Jan. 17.
Hormel Foods and the Jennie-O® brand, a category leader and trusted brand for turkey products, announced a partnership with Hall last October and have been visiting schools across the nation to honor school cafeteria staff by hosting what they refer to as school cafeteria takeovers. So far, these friendly takeovers have occurred at area schools in Nashville, Tenn., and Los Angeles, Calif., where Hall and the Jennie-O® brand team served foodservice workers lunch in recognition of the important role they play in providing nourishment to students.