Perdue Farms presents a $5,000 check to the Wicomico County Fair for sponsorship of the event’s fireworks display. From L to R: Ernie Colburn, President and CEO of the Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, Zach Evans, Chairman of the Wicomico County Fair, Jennifer Small, Managing Director of the Maryland Food Bank of the Eastern Shore, Kim Nechay, Executive Director of the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation, Sherman of the Delmarva Shorebirds and Jimmy Sweet, Assistant General Manager of the Delmarva Shorebirds.
The Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce and the Wicomico Farm & Home Show Committee are pleased to announce that Perdue Farms will bring a fireworks display to the 2016 Wicomico County Fair through its sponsorship of the three-day event August 19-21 at Winterplace Park in Salisbury. The fireworks display is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. during Friday’s opening day of the fair.
The Wicomico County Fair also provides the venue for Perdue Farms to expand its reach in the fight against hunger in partnership with the Delmarva Shorebirds, Maryland Food Bank and the Fair through the “2016 Perdue Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva.” Fairgoers will have the opportunity to support the campaign by bringing non-perishable food items to the Maryland Food Bank tent, which will support the food bank mission to deliver meals to those in need in the community.
“We are honored to have Perdue Farms on board as a sponsor this year and the opportunity to participate in the Strike Out Hunger Challenge through this partnership,” said Zach Evans, Wicomico County Fair chairman. “This is yet another example of our community coming together; and to not only celebrate our culture on the Lower Shore, but also to bring attention to and help combat a real issue that folks are dealing with every day.”
“The Wicomico Farm and Home Show has a long tradition of celebrating the importance of agriculture on the Eastern Shore, and the 2016 Wicomico County Fair will provide a showcase to continue that tradition,” said Kim Nechay, Executive Director of the Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation. “We’re thrilled to lend our support to the fair this year and bring fireworks to Friday’s opening night.”
“Perdue Farms has been part of the local agricultural community for almost a century,” said Perdue Farms Chairman Jim Perdue. “I remember our company exhibiting at the Farm and Home Show in the old Civic Center, so I’m happy to see us return as a sponsor. This a great opportunity for the community to come together while helping our neighbors who face food insecurity.”
The Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva has provided more than 500,000 meals to at-risk residents on Delmarva since 2011.
“We’re excited to provide the Maryland Food Bank a forum through the Fair to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in our region through the Strike Out Hunger Challenge on Delmarva,” said Nechay. “We encourage fairgoers to bring a non-perishable food item to the fair and help support the food bank’s mission.”
New Mobile Maryland Agriculture Showcase New To The Fair In 2016
Perdue Farms is also helping bring the new mobile Maryland Agricultural Showcase to the Wicomico County Fair this year. The Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation’s mobile showcase provides hands-on interactive learning activities featuring numerous Maryland commodities to include poultry production, nursery and landscaping, dairy cattle, and many more areas of agriculture that impact Maryland. Perdue helped fund the new showcase through a $25,000 Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation grant in February.
The mobile unit targets all ages and backgrounds to offer a learning experience for any visitor. Guests will have the opportunity to “milk a cow,” try out the fruit and veggie riddle boxes, explore life in the soil, measure their height in “horse hands” and more.
About The 2016 Wicomico County Fair
The 2016 Wicomico County Fair continues an 80-year tradition of county fairs. Opening ceremonies will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19. Perdue Farms, Gateway Subaru and Pepsi Bottling Ventures are the presenting sponsors for the three-day event. Visit wicomicofair.com to learn more.
About Perdue Farms
Perdue Farms is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for everyone we touch through innovative food and agricultural products. Since our beginning on Arthur Perdue’s farm in 1920, to our expansion into agribusiness and the introduction of the PERDUE® brand of chicken and turkey under Frank Perdue, and continuing with our third generation of leadership with Chairman Jim Perdue, we’ve remained family owned and family operated. We are the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness. Through our PERDUE®, HARVESTLAND® and COLEMAN NATURAL® and COLEMAN ORGANIC® food brands; agricultural products and services; and stewardship and corporate responsibility programs, we are working to become the most-trusted name in food and agricultural products. Learn more about Perdue Farms at www.perduefarms.com.
