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FOSTER FARMS EARNS TRADE & INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE’S CICI COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD

3/12/2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


FOSTER FARMS EARNS TRADE & INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT MAGAZINE’S CICI COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD
Company’s Farmerville poultry plant purchase and re-opening credited for contributing to one of the most successful years in economic development for Northeast Louisiana


FARMERVILLE, Louisiana – Foster Farms, the West Coast’s leading poultry brand, announced today it has been awarded the 2010 Corporate Investment and Community Impact CiCi Award by Trade & Industry Development Magazine on behalf of its contributions to Farmerville, Louisiana. The company is one of 15 national recipients out of 1000 total candidates. The award recognizes Foster Farms, and its collaboration with the State of Louisiana and Governor Bobby Jindal, for the purchase and re-opening of an idled former-Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing plant in Farmerville, Louisiana. The revival created more than 1,060 new jobs with a corresponding payroll of over $24 million at full capacity, and saved the local grower and supplier base from unemployment, all while avoiding the loss of over $100 million in state and local tax revenues over the next 10 years.

The Corporate Investment and Community Impact CiCi Awards were created to acknowledge companies that are making a difference by investing, locating and building relationships in communities throughout North America, as well as the economic development agencies that have facilitated their decisions. This dual recognition is an industry first. The recipients of these prestigious awards are recognized for their creation of new jobs, retention of current jobs and generation of economic growth.

“Foster Farms is honored to be recognized for our efforts less than one year ago to revitalize the economy of Northeast Louisiana,” said Ira Brill, Director of Communications for Foster Farms. “We are committed to the long-term viability of our Farmerville plant and the economic health of Northeast Louisiana. We are ramping up as appropriate for demand and remain very optimistic about the future of poultry production in the region. We look forward to continue working with the people of Farmerville and Union Parish for many years to come.”

Foster Farms purchased the Farmerville facility in [June 2009 from Pilgrim’s Pride] through a cooperative effort with the State of Louisiana and Governor Bobby Jindal. In less than one year, the company has succeeded in re-opening an idled facility, hired and trained more than 1066 local employees, completed significant facility improvements and provided contracts to the maximum number of local poultry farmers.

Trade & Industry Development’s editorial staff consulted numerous industry experts, academics, journalists, site selection consultants and economic developers to establish the criteria for the award. In addition, the publication utilized its database of communities and economic developers to contribute their most significant site selection transactions for 2009. More than 1,000 submissions for the CiCi awards were collected. Details on the investment and contributions of recipients of the awards are available in Trade & Industry Development’s March/April 2010 issue or online at www.tradeandindustrydev.com.


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About Foster Farms

Since 1939, families have depended on Foster Farms www.fosterfarmsandnewmansown.net for premium quality chicken and turkey products. Family-owned and operated, the company continues its legacy of excellence and commitment to quality established by its founders, Max and Verda Foster. Foster Farms specializes in fresh, all natural chicken and turkey products free of preservatives, additives or injected sodium enhancers. Based in California’s Central Valley, with ranches also in the Pacific Northwest, the company’s fresh chicken and turkey are produced in or near each region served. Foster Farms also produces delicious pre-marinated, ready-to-cook and fully cooked products that meet the quality and convenience needs of today’s home cooks, retailers, warehouse clubs and foodservice customers. The company’s commitment to excellence, honesty, quality, service, and people is a source of great pride, and, a longtime family tradition.