Caring for One Another in a Time of Need

April 14, 2020

OSI has a long and proud history of supporting communities in the 17 countries where it operates and beyond. Social responsibility is fundamental to the way OSI does business and has driven initiatives and philanthropic efforts concerning everything from agricultural development in East Africa to curbing hunger in the United States. As the world now grapples with the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 virus, OSI remains as committed as ever to caring for both its workers and the communities it serves.

As food providers with global reach, OSI is well positioned to respond to one of the pressing needs to emerge in the crisis: access to food. In every region the company operates, OSI has stepped up to donate food, funds or other products to those finding themselves suddenly in need.

The company’s range of initiatives, each one tailored to the unique needs of local communities, reflects OSI’s core values of integrity, partnership, teamwork, continuous improvement and innovation — the drive to tackle any new challenge, however unprecedented, with creative and positive solutions.

As David McDonald, OSI President and Chief Operating Officer, said in a letter to the OSI family last week, “This is an event that asks all of us to do our very best to care for one another.”

CARING FOR ONE ANOTHER CLOSEST TO HOME

OSI staff around the world had already been taking that message to heart, with some beginning their charity closest to home.

Leadership at Pickstock Telford, an OSI plant in the UK, for example, sent each of its workers home in the last two weeks with a box of meat.

Creative Foods Europe, an OSI company also in the UK, meanwhile, has been donating food to a range of local organizations feeding vulnerable people in the area.

“We are keen to support the local community in these challenging times,” the company noted in a series of LinkedIn posts highlighting the various items — sandwich fillings, dips, coleslaw — it has provided to food banks and other groups delivering meals to those in need. OSI Germany is taking a similar approach, donating food to various sites run by Tafel Germany, a non-profit that feeds the hungry.

Beyond food, some OSI companies are focusing their efforts on getting funds and other necessities to people and organizations doing critical work to support those most affected by the health and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. OSI China’s Rushan Plant has concentrated its efforts, for example, on supporting local medical institutions on the frontline of the fight against the virus. And in Australia, Turosi Giving, an OSI company-backed charitable initiative, has funded a high flow oxygen machine for a local hospital, as they are in much need of additional equipment at this time.

TAPPING A LONG HISTORY OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

In the U.S., meanwhile, OSI is tapping into long standing relationships with charitable organizations that help the hungry and support families with hospitalized children. As it has in the past, OSI is sponsoring a now-virtual 5K to raise money for the Northern Illinois Food Bank. The race, which runners and walkers will now complete independently rather than as a group, will raise critical funds to get groceries to the growing number of locals suddenly finding themselves without enough to eat.

OSI also responded to a critical need for restaurant gift cards from its longtime partner, Ronald McDonald House Charities, which supports families around the world while their children are receiving critical medical care.

The gift cards will provide hot meals for families receiving support from the charity’s Illinois locations.

The relationships OSI has fostered over the years with community organizations has enabled the company to snap into action in the face of this global crisis. OSI is grateful to play a helpful role during this time of need to lend immediate help and relief to its family and neighbors around the world.