Meat+Poultry - December 2017 - 34

DISASTER RELIEF

"Once
safety was
established,
our thoughts
turned
immediately
to the question
of how we
could help
the hundreds
of thousands
of displaced
persons in the
shelters who
were in need of
hot meals."

these items so MPF leveraged its supply chain
partners to gather cleaning products to share
with employees in need.
Next, HR assisted employees with filing
FEMA paperwork and insurance claims. "We
realized that because so many of our hourly
employees do not speak English as their first
language, they could be even more challenged
by the prospect of filling out this complex
paperwork," Tapick says. In response, the
company hired additional personnel to assist
HR with helping employees with this task.
A grief counselor was also brought to the
facility to help employees cope with the trauma
of the disaster.
Finally, the company wanted to provide
financial assistance to its employees who were
impacted. MPF provided interest-free loans to
any employee needing financial assistance after
the storm. The company also made sure each
employee received a full paycheck the week
of the storm, whether or not they were able to
come to work. "But we soon recognized that
these gestures, while appreciated, were still
not enough," Tapick explains. The company
then decided to form the Tapick Family
Foundation, a private foundation designed to
administer disaster relief.
The company's disaster relief fund is
financed by the Tapick family, along with
charitable donations that employees can elect
to make (all employee donations are matched
by the Tapick family). In addition, donations
can be made on the company's You Caring page
by friends, family and company partners.
A team of company volunteers review
applications for disaster relief funds (to
be used for home or vehicle repairs or the
replacement of personal items lost in the
storm). More than $25,000 in grants have been
provided to MPF employees, to date.
The Tapick Family Foundation will serve
as a resource to help current and future
employees in the event of future disasters as
well, Tapick says.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Martin Preferred Foods
provided meals to first
responders as well as
more than 1,500 cases
of grocery items to the
relief effort in Houston.

34

Ensuring employees were safe during and after
the storm was the company's main priority -
but after that goal was met, MPF wanted to
find ways to help others in the community.
"Once safety was established, our thoughts
turned immediately to the question of how

MEAT+ POULTRY | 12.17 | www.meatpoultry.com

we could help the hundreds of thousands of
displaced persons in the shelters who were in
need of hot meals."
As a food company, Martin Preferred Foods
set out to do what it does best - deliver food
and feed people.
On Monday, Aug. 28, even though the plant
was officially closed, the company was able to
deliver a pallet of beef fajitas to the Houston
Police Dept. for them to grill and feed first
responders. In the days following, and up to
two weeks after the storm, MPF continued to
deliver meat to the police department and to
various shelters around the city to help feed
the community.
Most of Martin's products are "ready to cook"
not "ready to eat" so the company partnered with
chefs and restauranteurs in Houston to help feed
displaced people and first responders in the area.
MPF would provide the meat, the chefs would
prepare it for those in need.
"Many of the chefs that we serve as
our customers were unable to open their
restaurants that week due to the storm, so
they devoted their time and attention to
preparing food in their commercial kitchens

Martin Preferred Foods

- JEFFREY TAPICK

2017
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - December 2017

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