Driving Local Impact Through The Power of Giving

McCormick has set a goal for 80% of global employees to participate in The Power of Giving program. Globally in 2022, McCormick and its generous employees donated more than $10.4 million to charitable organizations. For over 80 years, McCormick’s The Power of Giving legacy has included Charity Day, an opportunity for employees to give back to the communities in which they live and work. Our inspiring workforce generously donate their time to volunteering and/or donate financially through payroll deductions and cash fundraising. McCormick matches these donations dollar for dollar.

In the US, where the Charity Day tradition began in 1941, we raised over $1.9 million for more than 750 charitable organizations in 2022. In recent years we’ve introduced some friendly competition to proceedings, with the Charity Day Travelling Trophy awarding bragging rights to the facility with the highest participation rate. In 2022, the trophy took a trip down to New Orleans and the Zatarain’s team. 

The Zatarain’s team are no strangers to giving back to their community. “The New Orleans community has been tested,” says David Walker, Training and Development Manager at the Zatarain’s facility, “but we always come back stronger.” Chantell Jennings, the plant’s SHE Manager, agrees: “I remember after Hurricane Katrina when people were living in trailers,” she says, “but we’re very resilient. When things happen, we’re constantly giving back to make the community stronger.”

Chantell and David are members of Zatarain’s Charity Day committee and help to coordinate the team’s Power of Giving efforts. “There’s a compelling business need to stay connected to the community. It’s a community in which we all live, and in some cases the challenges the community faces directly impact our employees. When someone in our own house has issues we all rally around – we really care about one another,” explained Chantell. 

The culture that has been nurtured within the team enabled the Charity Day committee to reach a participation rate of over 90%, a staggering achievement and one which won them the Charity Day Travelling Trophy in 2022. “It starts with the leadership team,” says David, “they give money or give their time, and this cascades out to all employees.” One of the charities benefitting from their efforts was No One Fights Alone, a small, non-profit organization which provides financial assistance to local families when a cancer diagnosis is delivered. 

Other efforts in the US included:

• The team in Mojave, California assembled over 2,400 meal kits for distribution in the LA area
• Our facility at South Bend, Indiana raised funds for the Boys and Girls Club of St. Joseph County
• The FONA team in Illinois created the “Grateful Giving Wall”, where employees purchased gratitude notes, with the proceeds being donated to Lazarus House, the Illinois Food Bank and CASA for the children of Kane County.

In Maryland, fundraising at the McCormick Distribution Centre (MDC) surpassed their $50,000 goal, employees at the Hunt Valley plant assembled emergency kits for the homeless to benefit United Way, and at our Global Headquarters, staff came together to sort and package food products for the Maryland Food Bank to help in the fight against food insecurity.

Power of Giving efforts also extended across our global operations. For example, McCormick China organized virtual and face-to-face fundraising activities including online challenges, a charity sale, a food bazaar, fun games, and even a flea market, while McCormick Thailand partnered with the Scholars of Sustenance Foundation to prepare cooked food packages and 500 sets of relief supplies that were given to vulnerable groups in the local community. 

However, for the Zatarain’s team, victory tasted like tacos, with appreciation for their efforts coming in the form of a food truck for a day. But while their winning performance came with a tasty reward, Chantell is clear that it was merely the icing on the cake: “It’s all done in the spirit of giving,” she says, “winning comes from the heart.”

Follow the Flavor Forward Blog and McCormick & Company on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram for company news and updates.