Month: May 2023

Bolsters Hershey’s commitment to support increased incomes for cocoa farming households

Supports objectives included in Côte d’Ivoire’s National Strategy for Sustainable Cocoa

HERSHEY, Pa., May 11, 2023 /3BL Media/ – The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) announced the launch of its Income Accelerator in Côte d’Ivoire. The program will support increased incomes for cocoa farming households through the provision of cash transfers (CTs) and investments in village savings and loan associations (VSLAs). Designed and implemented with input from the Conseil du Café-Cacao, the Rainforest Alliance and CARE, the Income Accelerator offers a proven, multi-faceted approach to help address cocoa farmer poverty while also supporting sustainable farming practices and mitigating the risk of child labor.

“The Income Accelerator is part of Hershey’s long-term commitment to make a real difference in the lives of cocoa farmers and their children,” said Jason Reiman, Chief Supply Chain Officer at The Hershey Company. “We are proud to begin this important initiative in collaboration with the government of Côte d’Ivoire and our NGO partners. Together, we can support better livelihoods for farming households and ensure bright futures for cocoa-growing communities.”

As part of the Income Accelerator, Hershey in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance will distribute mobile cash transfers of up to $600 per household per year to approximately 5,000 cocoa farming households within its supply chain. These CTs, which will offer an additional source of income for households, will be based on the adoption of sustainable and regenerative farm management practices that increase farm profitability and resiliency to unexpected environmental circumstances.

With the support of CARE and cocoa farmer cooperatives, Hershey also plans to strengthen approximately 200 existing Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in its supply chain and establish another 350 new VSLAs. These 550 VSLAs will support an estimated 15,000 members and their families. Through these combined efforts, the program aims to yield meaningful incremental savings per participant within three years of them becoming a VSLA member. VSLAs provide members, particularly women and single mothers, a local structure for increasing savings and accessing loans at low interest rates in farming communities where formal banking and micro-financing services are scarce.

“Low producer income is a root cause of child labor and deforestation. We support this Income Accelerator program because the issue of producer income is at the heart of our concerns,” said Yves Brahima Koné, Managing Director at Conseil du Café-Cacao.

The Income Accelerator is based on proven poverty reduction strategies aimed at increasing incomes and supporting professionalized farming practices. It is well aligned with objectives included in the government of Côte d’Ivoire’s National Strategy for Sustainable Cocoa (SNCD). Research has shown that farmers receiving financial literacy and farm business training via CTs,1 and with access to savings and loans institutions, are more likely to have higher household incomes and engagement of women in household decision-making.2 With increased incomes and more professionalized operations, farming households are less likely to rely on children for hazardous work. They are also more likely to have enhanced food security and additional resources that can be invested in their children’s education and overall wellbeing.

Nanga Kone, Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire at the Rainforest Alliance, said: “One of the most urgent problems cocoa farmers face is that the income they get from their crop is not enough to achieve a decent standard of living. Combined with the impact of climate change, even in good years, many smallholder farmers struggle to make ends meet. Guided by three decades of research and experience, we believe that the Income Accelerator will help ensure long-term financial and quality of life benefit for cocoa farmers and their families in Côte d’Ivoire. The Rainforest Alliance looks forward to working in partnership with Hershey to help farmers link the short-term cash payments to their farm’s long-term sustainability and profitability strategy.”

“Since 1991, CARE has helped more than 13.5 million people join savings groups, and we aim to engage 62 million people in savings groups by 2030. Savings groups help women, girls and families across the globe increase their incomes and access food and healthcare. In fact, our research has shown that women who participate in savings groups triple their incomes. Hershey’s continued investment and support for the VLSA program will have a transformational impact on the lives of cocoa-producing families and communities throughout Côte d’Ivoire,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO at CARE.

The Income Accelerator is expected to positively impact no fewer than 20,000 households within Hershey’s supply chain and related communities. To measure and evaluate progress, Hershey will leverage tools and expertise provided by a Learning Advisory Committee that includes Sustainable Food Lab and is chaired by the Conseil du Café-Cacao. Updates on the program’s progress will be provided on the Hershey website and in its annual ESG report. Hershey is committed to continued collaboration with industry and governmental partners in Côte d’Ivoire to ensure the program has a long-term beneficial impact for cocoa farming households.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pa., and is an industry-leading snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help children succeed. Hershey has nearly 20,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 100 brand names in approximately 80 countries around the world that drive $10.4 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat®, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers, and fast-growing salty snacks including SkinnyPop, Pirate’s Booty and Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels.

For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed.

To learn more visit thehersheycompany.com.

About CARE

Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls. Equipped with the proper resources women and girls have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. In 2022, CARE worked in over 110 countries, reaching more than 170 million people through 1,600 projects.

To learn more, visit www.care.org.

About Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organization working in 70 countries at the intersection of business, agriculture and forests. The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. By bringing farmers, forest communities, companies, and individuals together it addresses some of the most pressing social and environmental challenges of today. The organization changes the way the world produces, sources and consumes, with a focus on cocoa, coffee, tea, bananas, and other tropical commodities through its certification program, supply chain services, landscape management, and advocacy. In 2021, more than 6 million hectares of farmland was certified against the Rainforest Alliance or UTZ standards and 4 million farmers and farmworkers participated in the Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certification programs, which are designed to improve economic, environmental, and social sustainability.

1 Bastagli, F., Hagen-Zanker, J., Harman, L., Barca, V., Sturge, G., Schmidt, T., & Pellerano, L. (2016, July 27). Cash transfers: What does the evidence say? ODI.org. https://odi.org/en/publications/cash-transfers-what-does-the-evidence-say-a-rigorous-review-of-impacts-and-the-role-of-design-and-implementation-features/

2 CARE (2022, August 18). VSLA By the Numbers: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Impact and ROI of VSLAs. Care.org. https://www.careevaluations.org/evaluation/vsla-by-the-numbers-a-comprehensive-analysis-of-the-impact-and-roi-of-vslas/

SOURCE The Hershey Company

International Paper released its 2022 Sustainability Report, which illustrates the progress made on our Vision 2030 goals and outlines our commitment to building a better future for people, the planet and our company.

From planet-friendly packaging to pulp for absorbent products, we transform renewable resources into products people depend on every day. As one of North America’s largest recyclers, we deliver circular solutions that reduce waste and build a better future for our planet.

International Paper recognizes its impacts and dependencies on natural and human capital, and its responsibility to promote the health of people and our planet because we know that’s what’s needed for a livable world and a thriving society.

About International Paper 
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a leading global supplier of renewable fiber-based products. We produce corrugated packaging products that protect and promote goods, and enable worldwide commerce, and pulp for diapers, tissue and other personal care products that promote health and wellness. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., we employ approximately 38,000 colleagues globally. We serve customers worldwide, with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. Net sales for 2021 were $19.4 billion. See how we’re building a better future for people, the planet, and our company at internationalpaper.com/Vision-2030.

AUSTIN, Texas, May 11, 2023 /3BL Media/ – The three day event opened with remarks from founding member Nancy Easton, Executive Director of Wellness in the Schools who stated “we are not an organization, we are a collaborative; and this is not a conference, it is a gathering. There are no vendors here to sell you anything, only a space to connect and learn from each other.” ScratchWorks was conceived during the summer of 2019 when a group of nonprofits and school food service operators came together to consider what could be done to accelerate change in school food. ScratchWorks was born, a collective of school food professionals and non-profit organizations, developed by and for food service operators, committed to supporting school districts in cooking school meals from scratch using whole, fresh ingredients. Unique to this collective is its funding model – the donors, Life Time Foundation and Whole Kids Foundation, are also its partners who continually collaborate with the districts to meet their goals.

A significant component of support offered by this collective was the development of a multi-day professional development and networking event that brought together school food programs from across the country wanting to increase their scratch cooking practices. The inaugural event took place in Austin, TX on April 24-26, 2023. Representatives from over 100 school districts came together for this multi-day event, featuring nearly 20 educational sessions led by school food operation leaders from across the country. Sessions included topics such as Scratch vs. Speed Scratch, Message Development for Your Program, Policies and Legislation Supporting Scratch Cooking, Recipe and Menu Development and many more. Founding member and Minneapolis Public Schools, Director Culinary and Wellness Services Bertrand Weber commented, “You could feel how different this event was and how invigorated attendees were after the three days, building these relationships will ensure we have a network to lean on when we have questions,”

The event opened up with a keynote address by Chef Andrew Zimmern, TV personality, chef, writer and social justice advocate. Chef Zimmern applauded the attendees for pushing past the status quo and emphatically stated, “the question isn’t can we afford to do this? The fact is we can’t afford not to. It would cost us17B$ to fully restore scratch cooking in our national public school system, including equipment, re-builds, product and staff. Sounds like a lot. But our federal budget is 6.3T$ annually. So 17B$ is a rounding error when it comes to the cost, it’s .0027% of the federal budget.”

School food leaders from districts across 18 states and representing enrollment of over 1.1 million students shared in their excitement for a new kind of event. While there are many conferences that support a broad spectrum of school food operation topics, this gathering was the first national event to focus all of its educational sessions and experiences around scratch cooking in schools. It is well known that scratch cooking presents more complexities than serving packaged food and we believe that bringing leaders together to share their experiences and build relationships is one of the most significant things that can be done to increase scratch cooking in schools in our country.

The closing session was an interview with USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services Administrator, Cindy Long, who offered up her philosophy on scratch cooking in schools; “what I feel like I’ve learned is that there is no one answer for every circumstance. Scratch cooking clearly offers benefits. You have much more control. You can tailor to your community. It supports engagement and connection with food”. When the floor was opened for questions, district leaders asked about the new proposed rule, particularly around more stringent sodium standards. Administrator Long emphasized that new proposed updates to the nutrition standards are to be executed over 10-years and they are applied to a menu cycle not a meal, so with scratch cooking there is more flexibility.

Since cooking and food were at the core of the experience, districts were encouraged to submit their recipes prior as event planners chose breakfast and lunch menus. Some of the favorites included a Chickpea Masala submitted by Bellingham Washington Public Schools and a Cambodian Lok Lak served at Lowell Public Schools in MA, which caters to their local Southeast Asian student population.

ScratchWorks is a collective of school food professionals and non-profit organizations committed to supporting school districts in cooking school meals from scratch using whole, fresh ingredients that provide students with the nutrition they need for their educational success, health and wellbeing. Founding members include Andrew Benson, Ann Cooper, Amy Maclosky, Ryan Mikolaycik, Stephen O’Brien and Bertrand Weber as well as Chef Ann Foundation, Life Time Foundation, Wellness in the Schools and Whole Kids Foundation. 

Contact: Nona Evans
Email: Nona.Evans@outlook.com           
Tel:  512.289.9258