Press Room

FOSTER FARMS RECEIVES CALIFORNIA'S HIGHEST ENVIRONMENTAL HONOR FROM THE GOVERNOR Company is also the recipient of the POWER Award for voluntary solution to complex diposal issues.

11/23/2005
LIVINGSTON, Calif. - November 23, 2005 - Foster Farms is the recipient of two prestigious awards for its voluntary efforts to help protect California’s water resources and environment.

CEO Ron Foster and Don Jackson, President, accepted California’s highest environmental honor, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA), from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during ceremonies in Sacramento. The GEELA program recognizes exceptional leadership and notable contributions in conserving California’s resources and recognizes the significance of a joint project between Foster Farms and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD).

The company also received the POWER Award at a ceremony in Los Angeles from Public Officials for Water and Environmental Reform. The annual POWER Award honors companies that are implementing programs that serve as models to others and provide solutions to the state’s water issues.

Both awards were the result of the company’s success in finding an innovative way to dispose of one million pounds of organic waste per week from its poultry processing facilities. In collaboration with EBMUD, they have developed a process that generates electricity instead of using it. The company worked with five state and county agencies over an 18-month period to identify and implement an environmentally benign, integrated program that would be a model for a new private/public partnership -- the first of its kind in the state.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) served as a catalyst in bringing Foster Farms and EBMUD officials together to utilize an existing process already in place for the disposal of waste in the public sector and apply it to the disposal of organic waste material from the private sector.

This unique partnering agreement, lead by Bill Ghiglia, Director of By-Products for Foster Farms, enables the company to ship its production waste to EBMUD where it is processed using anaerobic digestion technology at a considerable advantage over prior methods. The key byproduct of this innovative disposal procedure is methane gas that is then being used to generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 4,000 homes each year.

“We are honored to receive these awards,” said James Marnatti, Environmental Affairs Manager for Foster Farms. “The project for which we are being recognized is only one example of Foster Farms’ commitment to the environment and exemplifies the importance of the company’s environmental initiatives to California. Foster Farms is continuously improving its production and processing practices with the goal of finding better ways to protect and conserve vital resources, especially our state’s water supply. These honors are evidence that the company’s ongoing efforts are achieving tangible results.”

For more information about both of these awards, visit the following Web sites: www.calepa.ca.gov/Awards/GEELA and www.cawaterpolicy.org.



ABOUT FOSTER FARMS
Family-owned Foster Farms, based in Livingston, Calif., is the leading poultry producer in the Western United States. The company has remained a family-owned business since its founding in 1939. Foster Farms branded fresh chicken is always locally grown on farms it owns or operates in each of its markets. Foster Farms specializes in producing high quality fresh chicken products that are all natural with no preservatives or sodium-based additives, in addition to a full line of other delicious poultry products. The company produces and delivers premium quality poultry products to retailers, warehouse clubs and foodservice customers throughout the West.
- 30 -