Community Involvement
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Efficient School Lunch – Cargill was one of the supporters of the award, which recognizes best practices of municipal public administrations in the National Program for School Lunches.
Open Doors Program – Nearly 1,700 people from Santarém (Sate of Pará) and surrounding communities participated in the project, which promotes group visits to the company in order to help people understand its ways and how it does business. This activity also includes a boat ride to see the ships and the pier close up.
Historical Heritage – The company sponsors the Archaeological Project in the city of Santarém, developed by Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), which rescues and recovers archaeological objects discovered in excavations, taking them to a laboratory to determine their origin. The project began in May 2009 and relies on partnerships with specialists and other universities in the region. It follows the rules established by the Institute of National Historical and Artistic Heritage and strictly observes national legislation for protecting archaeological heritage. The initiative also promotes the development of Brazilian know-how and heritage education, while raising awareness of the importance of preserving material from ancient civilizations that inhabited the region.
Books – Cargill also sponsors the launching of books related to agricultural science, thus contributing to the improvement of agricultural development. In three decades of operation, the Cargill Foundation has released over 230 new titles and distributed over 250,000 copies free of charge to educational institutions, government agencies, libraries, researchers, and teachers in this area.
Três Lagoas – The Cargill Foundation has promoted actions combining economy and environmental awareness, in partnership with the company unit in Três Lagoas (state of Mato Grosso do Sul). The factory began to use industrial waste for the production of fertilizers used in planting vegetable gardens in private owned areas of the city, which also supply 100% of the annual demand for the Grain by Grain program.
One Day for the Future – The campaign reached its third edition in 2009, during which Cargill attempted to engage employees in its activities by stimulating them to “adopt” a child in order for him/her to receive educational material from the Cargill Foundation Programs. Each employee chose the quantity of material to be given and the amount required for that donation was deducted directly from their payroll. A total of 2,400 employees participated, generating a total of R$ 42,000.
Cocoa producers – Cargill supports the initiatives developed by CARE Brazil, an NGO whose mission is to fight poverty. One of them, carried out in the state of Bahia, helps farmers by training them and their family to better work in urban areas. A microcredit program was created to assist entrepreneurs interested in setting up their own business, train workers for the construction industry and promote agricultural education programs. The partnership also includes actions to provide more opportunities for farmers in the Amazon region, with the assurance of best practices for negotiating and setting prices, providing space also for small farmers and introducing the demand for sustainable production of cocoa in the international market.
