DS Smith Celebrates 25 years of Thanksgiving for Thousands

DS Smith North America Paper and Packaging Supports Mountaire Farm’s’ 25th Annual Thanksgiving for Thousands

DS Smith is proudly assisting long-time partner Mountaire Farms by donating custom corrugated boxes to assist their efforts in providing wholesome Thanksgiving meals to residents in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Mountaire’s Thanksgiving for Thousands program began 25 years ago, and fosters community spirit by bringing together employees, local charities and other contributors all along the Delmarva Peninsula. The program has expanded to include the Lumber Bridge and Siler City, NC communities Mountaire serves, where each year thousands are provided Thanksgiving meals. 

“25 years ago we launched this event with 300 cases, and this year we’re going to pack over 20,000. Over the course of those 25 years, we’ve packed over 200,000 cases for our local communities, providing nutritious Thanksgiving meals for 800,000 friends and neighbors. DS Smith has played a large part in making that happen by providing a quality box for us," noted Phillip Plylar, President of Mountaire Farms

“DS Smith is proud to be a part of the 25^th anniversary of Mountaire’s annual Thanksgiving for Thousands program,” adds Pete Bugas, Sales and Commercial Director, DS Smith North America. “Over the years we’ve collaborated with Mountaire to create a durable box for the event that ensures that the food inside arrives as intended and the box can be reused by the recipient. We’re honored to be a part of this community outreach, and it’s a win-win for everyone involved.”

Hundreds of volunteers, including employees from Mountaire, DS Smith and many local groups worked together in Selbyville, DE and Lumber Bridge, NC to pack nearly 25,000 dinner boxes in time for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Every box distributed will provide all the necessary ingredients to cook a nutritious Thanksgiving dinner for up to six people. These ingredients include a Mountaire roaster, corn, string beans, yams, stuffing mix, gravy, cranberry sauce and brownie mix. The dinner boxes will be distributed during the Thanksgiving week to food pantries, governmental agencies, churches, and shut-ins.

DS Smith facilities in Cambridge, MD and Reading, PA have worked closely with suppliers Mark/Trece, Inc. and Stafford Cutting Dies, Inc. to produce and donate the corrugated boxes needed for this food drive and other Mountaire initiatives throughout the year.

Mountaire Farms & DS Smith: A History of Innovative Partnership

Mountaire and DS Smith have a history of impactful collaborations that benefit a wider community. In 2009, DS Smith Packaging Cambridge partnered with Mountaire Farms to develop Greencoat®, an innovative alternative to traditional wax boxes that revolutionized poultry packaging.

DS Smith’s Greencoat boxes have significantly reduced Mountaire Farm’s carbon footprint and streamlined its supply chain. The FBA-certified, 100% recyclable, repulpable and compostable box can be used to pack poultry, meat, seafood, fresh produce, floral, and stone products.

Over the last eight years, over 666,000 tons of Greencoat wax replacement boxes were recycled instead of the same number of wax-coated boxes, significantly reducing greenhouse gas and vehicle emissions.

About Mountaire Farms

Mountaire Farms is the seventh-largest producer of chicken in the United States, with headquarters in Millsboro, Delaware. The company operates internationally, serving the United States and foreign markets as far away as Asia. Mountaire Farms has 7,000 employees at facilities in Arkansas, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia.

About DS Smith 

Headquartered in London, DS Smith focuses on creating sustainable packaging solutions, and has 19 manufacturing facilities in the United States and operates in more than 37 different countries with over 31,000 employees. The company’s history can be traced back to the box-making businesses started in the 1940s by the Smith family, originally listed on the London Stock Exchange in the late 1950s.

DS Smith North America produces recyclable Greencoat® for poultry, produce and other applications where adverse conditions require moisture and temperature-resistant packaging.