Weeklong Effort Focuses on Building Healthy Communities

CAMDEN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 13, 2015-- Nearly 3,000 Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) employees will volunteer in more than 90 community projects as part of “Make a Difference Week,” Campbell’s annual week of service, which begins Monday, April 13. Projects will take place around Campbell’s World Headquarters in Camden and 13 of the company’s U.S. locations.

As part of the company’s week of service, Campbell’s executive team, including President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison, will create garden beds and plant vegetables at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center in Camden. These gardens will provide fresh produce for the Kroc Center’s food pantry. In addition, Campbell chefs will provide cooking demonstrations to Kroc Center members featuring the vegetables that will be planted in the raised beds.

Other Camden-based projects where Campbell employees will participate include:

• Packing meals at the Food Bank of South Jersey, MANNA (Metropolitan AIDS Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) and Philabundance in Philadelphia;
• Cleaning the Delaware River Bank with the New Jersey Center for Aquatic Sciences;
• Cooking and serving meals at the Ronald McDonald House of Southern NJ and New Visions Homeless Day Shelter;
• Building shelving for the feeding program at the Neighborhood Center in Camden; and
• Providing nutrition education to local students of Camden’s Pride Charter Elementary School.

“Giving back is an integral part of who we are and what we believe in,” said Dave Stangis, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs. “Our employees invest more than just time and passion--they contribute their talents and expertise to build and sustain healthy communities where they live and work, starting right here in Camden.”

In addition to projects across the Delaware Valley, Campbell is running a kids’ backpack program at several of its sites across the country, including its plants in Napoleon, Ohio, Bloomfield, Conn. and Maxton, N.C. The program aims to supply a backpack full of food to youth who are on the National School Lunch Program during the school week, but do not know where their next meal is coming from on the weekend. The backpacks are filled with fresh produce and nutritionally sound shelf-stable items that can be easily prepared into full meals. The objective is to provide enough food to sustain one child through the weekend in each backpack. Filled backpacks will be donated to local food banks, elementary schools and recreation centers. Campbell expects to collect more than 2,000 backpacks full of food for children in need.

In recognition of the 4,000 hours that will be volunteered during the week, the Campbell Soup Foundation will distribute approximately $50,000 in grants to nonprofit organizations where Campbell employees will volunteer.

Campbell expanded national “Make a Difference Day” to “Make a Difference Week” eight years ago after a record number of employees expressed interest in volunteering. The following is a list of highlighted local activities for “Make a Difference Week”:

Monday, April 13 New Jersey Center for Aquatic Sciences Jackson Street and Ferry Avenue Camden, NJ 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Volunteers will comb the Delaware River Bank removing trash, floatable plastics and styrofoam.

Tuesday, April 14 New Visions Homeless Day Shelter 555b Atlantic Avenue Camden, NJ 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. Volunteers will cook and serve breakfast to approximately 100 homeless Camden residents.

Monday, April 20 Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center 1865 Harrison Avenue Camden, NJ 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Campbell’s executive team, including President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison, will build raised garden beds and plant vegetables. Campbell chefs will conduct a cooking demonstration for Kroc Center members.

Campbell’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategies are designed to deliver measureable impacts in four key areas: Our Consumers, Our Planet, Our Employees and Our Community. To learn more visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com/csr.

About Campbell Soup Company

Campbell (NYSE:CPB) is driven and inspired by our Purpose, “Real food that matters for life’s moments.” The company makes a range of products from high-quality soups and simple meals to snacks and healthy beverages. For generations, people have trusted Campbell to provide authentic, flavorful and readily available foods and beverages that connect them to each other, to warm memories, and to what’s important today. Led by its iconic Campbell’s brand, the company’s portfolio includes Pepperidge Farm, Goldfish, Bolthouse Farms, V8, Swanson, Prego, Pace, Plum Organics, Arnott’s, Tim Tam, Royal Dansk and Kjeldsens. Founded in 1869, Campbell has a heritage of giving back and acting as a good steward of the planet’s natural resources. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit www.campbellsoupcompany.com or follow company news on Twitter via @CampbellSoupCo.

Source: Campbell Soup Company

Bellevue Communications Susan Buehler, 215-893-4284 or Campbell Soup Company Amanda Bauman 856-342-5264 / 215-756-7971 (cell)