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After Mountaire Farms Donates Nearly 30,000 Pounds of Chicken, Beebe Healthcare Pays It Forward

 

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Team members helping during event

 

Mountaire Farms spent two days on Beebe Healthcare’s campuses last week to provide nearly 30,000 pounds of free chicken to all of the healthcare system’s team members. 

In response to the incredible support from the community, as well as the generosity of Mountaire, Beebe Healthcare team members asked for the opportunity to ‘pay it forward” and donate their gift to others less fortunate during this COVID-19 pandemic.

The result: 9,400 pounds of chicken donated to 14 food pantries supporting community members.

“This was truly an opportunity for Beebe and Mountaire to say thank you,” said David A. Tam, MD, MBA, FACHE, President & CEO of Beebe Healthcare. “Not only did Mountaire provide chicken to our hard-working team members and their families on the front lines right before Memorial Day weekend, but Beebe team members came up with the idea to have the ability to donate their portion to those in need. This is another extraordinary example of our team living the Beebe Values and how we are made up of families caring for families, and neighbors caring for neighbors.”  

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Mountaire chicken event

Beebe and Mountaire representatives worked together after 8 p.m. Friday to sort out the donations with these 14 food pantries: Epworth Church, Pearl House, Mary Mother of Hope, Community Resource Center, First State Community Action Agency, Betel Iglesias, Casa San Francisco, Love Inc., St. Vincent DePaul, Cape Henlopen Food Basket, Paisano A Paisanano, La Esperanza, Soul Ministries, and the Milton Food Pantry.

Kim Blanch, Community Services Manager for Beebe Population Health, said it was an inspiring moment for all those who stayed late on the holiday weekend to pass along bag after bag of chicken to be distributed throughout Sussex County.

“The commitment of all those involved shows how close-knit this community is when we know there are people in need of food and healthcare services – we always come together in our efforts to provide the services needed for our community,” Blanch said. “Between the Crush Corona Challenge campaign and the nearly $2 million in donations to the Beebe COVID-19 Relief Fund, it was so wonderful: all the smiles, thumbs up and expressions of gratitude from everyone, team members, and food pantries alike.”

Mountaire also recently donated personal protective equipment to Beebe during the pandemic, and Beebe is testing all Mountaire employees this month for the virus. Additional testing is being scheduled at more facilities. 

“Beebe has been a great partner and we’re grateful for all their doing to help fight this virus,” said Phillip Plylar, President of Mountaire Farms. “To date, we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of pounds of chicken to those in our community who need it the most, and for our healthcare workers who are doing so much to help.”