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Pennsylvania’s First Lady Honors Bell & Evans Chicken for work with Food Bank

Michele Ridge, wife of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, recently presented Bell & Evans with a special award for its product donations and assistance in motivating other food companies to participate in the statewide effort to eliminate hunger. Bell & Evans was one of only 18 donors throughout the Commonwealth recognized in this manner during a recent luncheon in Hershey, Pa. Mrs. Ridge presented the “Food Solicitation Award” to Bell & Evans Chairman & President Scott Sechler and Chief Executive Officer Bruno Schmalhofer. She thanked the donors for sharing the governor’s vision to build stronger communities in Pennsylvania, and called food banks, “the lifeline to many charitable organizations.” Specifically, Bell & Evans was honored for its “guidance and support” in soliciting new food sources for The South Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. For the past three years, Bell & Evans has donated approximately 50,000 pounds of poultry to the Pennsylvania Food Bank, which is a certified affiliate of Second Harvest, the national food bank network. Each year, the South Central Pennsylvania Food Bank distributes approximately 8 million pounds of food and grocery products to over 300 community emergency food providers and three affiliate food banks in Central Pennsylvania.