AFIA Members Donate Over 100K Hours, $56M in 2018

March 27, 2019

Contact Lacie Dotterweich

The American Feed Industry Association released the results of its annual charitable giving survey today, revealing an increase over 2017 in the animal food industry’s total donations and volunteer hours in support of charities and community organizations. AFIA member company employees donated a collective 104,000 hours of their time to supporting community service projects in 2018 - a 13 percent increase over 2017. AFIA member companies, including company-employee matches, also donated over $56 million to an expansive list of community causes.

“We are always really excited to see how much our members give back, as supporting our local communities is a big focus of AFIA’s sustainability pillar,” said AFIA President and CEO Joel G. Newman. “We are proud to see our members donating their time and resources to building stronger communities.”

The top charitable causes listed included education programming and scholarships, hunger relief and local community support. AFIA members also supported other efforts including disaster relief, civil service and health causes.

In total, AFIA’s members donated to more than 100 charitable causes in 2018, including the American Heart Association, local agricultural and youth associations, the Boys & Girls Club, Heifer International, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Dress for Success, United Way and more.

AFIA established a Sustainability Task Force in 2009, which identified four key sustainable focal points. The feed industry defines “sustainability” as the ability to provide a continuous, safe and nutritious feed supply for poultry, livestock, fish and pets in a manner that optimizes environmental quality and the use of natural resources, while positively affecting the social and economic well-being of customers, their communities and the industry.

The informal poll, conducted at the close of each year, tallies community service hours and funds donated by participating AFIA member companies. All AFIA member companies are invited to participate, but the statistics are not reflective of all AFIA members. This year’s results only include data from 2018.

To learn more about sustainability in the feed industry, visit AFIA’s website.