Community Engagement
Cargill invests in local communities through economic development, partnerships and giving combined with the volunteer efforts of our employees. Cargill provides corporate support to select national and global nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that serve communities in which we have a business presence. We support partners working within our focus areas of food security, nutrition, and sustainability. And, our businesses and facilities sponsor employee-led groups, called Cargill Cares Councils, which support civic and non-profit organizations in their local communities.
Cargill Cares Councils seek to recognize issues important to our communities; build effective relationships with community leaders; and work to help improve living standards and promote vibrant, stable communities.
Local Activities
Johan Cruyff Foundation
Cargill has partnered with the Johan Cruyff Foundation since 2015. As a company dedicated to nourishing the world, improving nutrition and education around healthy eating and active lifestyles for kids is key to helping our communities thrive. It is also something Cargill employees are very passionate about.
The Johan Cruyff Foundation was founded in 1997 to help children and young people become active and stay active. In so doing, the Johan Cruyff Foundation aims to make a positive contribution to four major issues facing society today:
- Health: helping children stay healthy and maintain a healthy weight
- Quality of life: work together through sport
- Personal growth: pushing yourself and developing your talents
- Participations: making sure no child is left on the sidelines
Cargill has supported the Johan Cruyff Foundation through both financial donations and through the time and passion of dedicated employee volunteers, so together, we can help improve nutrition and education outcomes the communities where we live and work.
Giving Back Foundation
Giving Back brings students in contact with industry individuals and companies to help support their personal and professional development, with a focus on students who are the first generation from their family to study in the Netherlands. Through receiving a personal mentor and access to an activity program consisting of workshops and industry visits, these students are able to build a network of role models to help them further their careers.
Cargill has partnered with Giving Back through both financial sponsorship and the dedicated time and effort of Cargill employee volunteers who coach a number of students taking part in Giving Back.
“At Cargill, we believe that everyone matters and everyone counts. That’s what Giving Back is doing very well. As a global company in the food and agriculture industry we are interested in different people with different backgrounds, and Giving Back is helping eliminate the obstacles they face. Giving financial support is always easier than giving time, but dozens of our employees are passionate about coaching the students in their own time. It goes both ways – the students are always attentive, ambitious and enthusiastic, but our own employees learn a lot from them too.” – Jos Zwienenberg, Cargill in the Netherlands
Alliance for YOUth
Working to enhance the employability of Europe’s young people, Cargill became a founding member of the “Alliance for YOUth,”, part of the “Nestlé Needs YOUth” initiative. As part of the Alliance, Cargill is committed to reducing youth unemployment by offering internships, apprenticeships, and skills training to young people, while sharing its best practices from its existing programs.
As part of this commitment, in the Netherlands, Cargill, together with other companies operating in North Holland, and in partnership with ROC Nova College/MyTec run an apprenticeship scheme through Leer Werken in de Techniek to improve the image of engineering/the industrial sector and promote a higher inflow of ambitious and well-trained young people with technical talent. A key objective of the apprenticeship scheme is to support the better connection between education and the needs of the business.
FoodSee University
FoodSee University is Cargill’s very own interactive educational program for school children to learn about agriculture and the food industry. The program provides students with the opportunity to learn first-hand how livestock is raised, the importance of animal nutrition and good farming practices. It all happens as part of a day-long field trip to the Global Cargill Animal Nutrition Innovation Center in Velddriel, The Netherlands.
On an average visit as part of FoodSee University, the Center in Velddriel welcomes up to 40 students, aged 10-12 years old. When students arrive, they are greeted by “Professor FoodSee,” the students’ interactive and friendly guide through the experience. The students are also equipped with a tool box of materials including a map, work sheets and cool gadgets to help them throughout the day.
The students are then split into three groups – chickens, pigs and cows – and a Cargill technical expert from the Innovation Center is assigned to each group to run the session using the materials in their tool boxes. For example, students will be asked how much grass a cow eats during the day. Then they will go out in the field and see first-hand how much grass there is in order to put it in perspective.
After a day of learning, being outside and using their gadgets, the students return to the classroom and create a presentation about what they’ve learned.