Community » Cobb Cares

1 Foundation

Cobb aims to operate safely, legally, ethically and sustainably in all communities where we have farms, hatcheries, feed mills, diagnostic laboratories and production offices. In addition to being a major employer in rural areas where we have poultry production facilities, Cobb’s approach is to partner with local leaders and organizations to truly benefit these local communities. These partnerships involve collaborating with local civic, education and service organizations, providing monetary and in-kind donations, and encouraging our team members to be proactive leaders and volunteers in their communities. Adding value to the community is the right thing to do and is a way that Cobb can positively influence the future for the people, environment, and infrastructure that we care about in our global regions.
2 Support

Corporate investment in local projects and volunteer engagement in community initiatives are important for Cobb as a global business leader. Our engagement and volunteer efforts are aligned with our mission to Feed the World and Make a Difference. From a corporate perspective, Cobb supports communities via financial investment in education scholarships, outreach programs, community sponsorships, council memberships, and donations to community non-profit organizations. Cobb also provides protein donations to local food pantries and community care facilities. From a team member perspective, individual engagement includes budgeting volunteer hours for outdoor beautification and environmental clean-up projects, serving as volunteer leaders for community groups, participating in community health and civic events, and providing educational seminars for classrooms, civic groups and agriculture initiatives. We credit our team members for their passion to be actively involved in hunger relief, egage in local outreach reliefs, improve their communities and share their knowledge about modern poultry production within the communities where they live and work.
3 Innovation

Making a difference in the world is in our DNA as a company and our roles as team members at Cobb! Despite the challenges with the pandemic, our dedication to support our communities has not faltered. In fact, our innovative approach to supporting our local communities has increased since January 2020 as we’ve recognized that economic tribulations have impacted food security for many citizens in the communities where we live and work. In the United States, Cobb team members tracked their miles when biking, walking and running. Cobb matched each mile with a donation of one pound of chicken meat. This Cobb-USA effort resulted in a total of 20,000 pounds of protein were donated to a local food bank in Northwest Arkansas. In Brazil, Cobb provided over fifteen hundred boxes of food to local families in need. In the Philippines, Cobb team members donated food and protein to the local communities.

Let's talk numbers.

10,000 lbs

Food donated for hunger relief by Cobb-USA in 2020

10,000 lbs

Food donated for hunger relief by Cobb-Brazil in 2020

1,000 lbs

Food donated for hunger relief by Cobb-Philippines in 2020

>100

Family farmers partnering with Cobb in rural communities

0

Developing countries where Cobb has helped start community poultry projects

>10

Global business poultry breeding partners helping feed the world

$1,000

Value of scholarships & community donations from Cobb-USA

$100,000

Value of scholarships & community donations from Cobb-Brazil

$10,000

Value of scholarships & community donations from Cobb-UK

Path to Progress

Cobb’s historic engagement in local communities has been persistent and consistent. We are a company that takes pride in being an integral business leader in various global regions. We also recognize our personal responsibility to positively enhance the people, environment and communities where we live and work.

As the company has grown and expanded globally in the past 20 years, Cobb has increased community outreach in various countries. From a business perspective, the growth has resulted in viable career options for many individuals and families at Cobb farms, feed mills and hatcheries, and our business model has created stable partnerships for many area farmers.

From a community education perspective, Cobb is honored to be a major contributor to education scholarships and community events involving youth who want to learn about how chicks are hatched and how chickens are raised. What a joy it is to see the wonder and amazement of children as they hold day-old chicks and see how chicks hatch out of eggs!

From a feeding the world perspective, various Cobb team members have been involved in local events to benefit food pantries and global outreach projects to implement sustainable poultry farming operations in developing countries. These individuals, with the monetary and logistics support of Cobb, have ambitiously worked with community leaders and local organizations to provide a healthy source of protein for families in need. As we look to the future, Cobb will continue to look for innovative ways to meet our mission of feeding the world and making a difference!

Cobb Cares in Action

Learn how these Cobb TMs support communities where we live and work and broader global needs

Trevor Gies (North America)

Role: Senior Manager of Marketing

Cobb TM since 2015

Action: Volunteers to lead the Cobb Chapter of the Miles that Matter program, which allows team members to convert personal miles (walking, biking, running, etc) into pounds of protein that are donated to local food banks for hunger relief.

Bret Rings, DVM (North America)

Role: Senior Veterinarian

Cobb TM since 2001

Action: Since 2010, has volunteered to provide technical support, production tips, and poultry health guidance for the One Egg poultry projects in Rwanda, Haiti and Uganda. The One Egg Foundation is focused on creating sustainable village poultry flocks to provide nursery schools with protein each day in the form of an egg for each child each day of the school week.

Chaplain Antoinette Kemp (North America)

Role: Corporate Chaplain

Cobb TM since 2010

Action: Provides pastoral guidance, spiritual care and counseling for Cobb TMs and their families within their local communities in the eastern region of the United States. Volunteers as a university lecturer to highlight the role and importance of corporate chaplaincy and provides webinars to poultry groups on resiliency and life balance topics.

Luana Ragonezi (South America)

Role: Director of Human Resources

Cobb TM since 2001

Action: Since 2007, has volunteered to lead company engagement and partnership for 3 daycare centers that serve young children in the communities where Cobb has farms and hatcheries; supports company collaboration to renovate a community nursing home and encourages youth to participate in the Cobb-sponsored environmental learning center.

Matt Lawson (North America)

Role: Senior Manager of Live Production

Cobb TM since 2003

Action: Since 2016, has volunteered to provide technical guidance and support for village poultry projects in Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Teaches small holder poultry farmers about sustainable poultry production practices, helps design and build rustic barns, provides best management tips for poultry care, and helps optimize efficient egg and poultry meat for the local villages.

Chaplain Rex Dickey (North America)

Role: Corporate Chaplain

Cobb TM since 2017

Action: Provides pastoral guidance, spiritual care and counseling for Cobb TMs and their families within their local communities in the central region of the United States. Volunteers to support local hunger relief efforts, assists an area food bank with logistical needs, and helps coordinate the company sponsored Angel Tree project.

What’s hatching?

Learn about the initiatives that benefit our local communities and our global outreach efforts

COMMUNITY OUTREACH (North America)

Cobb started a company Angel Tree program more than 10 years ago to support local families in the communities where we have offices, farms and hatcheries. This community outreach program is a testament to the core values of Cobb and demonstrates the traditions of caring and giving to others during the holiday season. Cobb chaplains assist with the Angel Tree application, set up the tree with the angel tags each December, and deliver the items to the families. Cobb team members volunteer to purchase items from the angel wish lists (toys, clothes, and household essentials) and also donate non-perishable food items for the project.

Community whats hatching Brazil FOOD DONATIONS 2

HUNGER RELIEF (South America)

Cobb is committed to business decisions and community actions that support our goals of sustainably feeding the world. In South America, this focus resulted in team members gathering to provide food boxes to communities in Brazil near our farms and hatcheries. This immediate hunger relief during the ongoing pandemic has been critically important for families in need in local communities.

Community Whats Hatching CVPI and LGU donation

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP (Asia-Pacific)

In rural areas where Cobb has breeding farms, community access to computers is often a challenge. Recognizing this need, Cobb recently made a donation of computers, office chairs, a printer and other office supplies to the local community center in the Philippines. This is a unique example of how the company is making a difference for the UN SDG-4 (Quality Education).

CCIA Community village poultry mozambique v2

VILLAGE POULTRY PARTNERSHIP (Mozambique)

Increasing access to protein via sustainable poultry production in eastern Africa has been a focus for Cobb and various team members who volunteer their time to support village poultry partnership in various countries. In Mozambique, small holder farmers have benefited from the support of several Cobb poultry experts as they have learned how to construct biosecure housing, how to care for their poultry flocks, and how to enhance local protein production in the form of eggs and meat for their immediate community. Cobb is honored to provide resources and financial support for these team members who volunteer their time and represent our mission of making a difference in the world. This is a unique example of how the company is making a difference for the UN SDG-3 (Good Health and Well-being) and UN SDG-2 (Zero Hunger).

WH community NA outreach food bank partnership

HUNGER RELIEF (North America)

Community food banks are the primary organizations that provide hunger relief for local communities in the United States. To help with local hunger relief, Cobb donated over 20,000 pounds of protein to a local food bank in Northwest Arkansas in 2020 via the Miles that Matter program. Additionally, in November 2021, Cobb partnered with other local companies to provide funding for the purchase of a refrigerated truck for a local food bank. This truck will enhance the food bank’s ability to pick up and utilize donated meat, dairy, egg and fresh fruit and vegetable options for hunger relief and increase their outreach to the local community.

WH community SA outreach and daycare support

COMMUNITY SUPPORT (South America)

In rural areas where Cobb has farms and hatcheries in Brazil, many communities lack access to centers that can provide quality care for young children. Recognizing this need, Cobb partnered with three separate communities to build and maintain daycare centers that serve young children (ages 1 to 6 years). Currently, over 650 children receive excellent care, access to early childhood education, and quality nutrition at these daycares in these rural communities. This is a unique example of how the company is making a difference for future generations in these local communities.

WH Community Haiti Village Poultry Global Outreach

VILLAGE POULTRY PARTNERSHIP (Haiti)

Supporting sustainable poultry production and helping village leaders help their community has been the focus of this village poultry partnership in Haiti. Supported by a Cobb veterinarian, the community has learned how to raise layer chickens and can now provide a sustainable source of protein in the form of one egg per day for the village school. Cobb is honored to be a supporter of these community outreach efforts that truly exemplify our mission of feeding the world. This is a clear example of how the company is making a difference for the UN SDG-2 (Zero Hunger).