Cooper Farms earns a AA+ rating

A local company was honored recently for food safety.

Cooper Farms received AA+ ratings for its St. Henry Harvesting and Van Wert Cooked Meats facilities from the Brand Reputation Compliance through Global Standard.

The company has received perfect ratings from announced audits in the past. The AA+ rating comes from perfect scores on unannounced audits.

“Food safety and quality is a top priority at both the harvesting and cooked meats locations,” said Cooper Farms chief operating officer Gary Cooper.. “The dedicated teams we have, as well as the leadership at both locations, deserve all the credit in the world for maintaining our reputation of producing high-quality, safe products.”

Brand Reputation Compliance through Global Standard provides a framework to manage product safety, integrity, legality and quality, and the operational controls for these criteria in the food and food ingredient manufacturing, processing and packing industry.

Fair scheduled

Jay County Chamber of Commerce announced that the 2024 Jay County Career Fair is scheduled for Sept. 12 at Jay County Junior-Senior High School.

Additional information about the event will be provided in the coming months. Businesses that would like to be placed on the list to participate should call the Jay County Purdue Extension office at (260) 726-4707.

Firm pledges

Preferred Insurance of Coldwater, Ohio, recently made a pledge of $10,000 toward the Mercer County Fairgrounds Grant Event Center + Market Hall project.

The pledge will be provided over a five-year period. The event center is planned as a venue for community gatherings, cultural events, trade shows and other attractions.

"We chose to donate to the Grand Event Center because it could significantly impact economic development by attracting tourism and stimulating local businesses through increased foot traffic and event-related spending,” said Preferred chief growth officer Andy Kremer. “This will all contribute to the growth and vitality of our county."

New hours

Adams Memorial Hospital’s obstetrics/newborn clinic is now open on Saturdays.

The clinic will offer hours from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. It has previously been open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Partnering on bottle

Ardagh Glass Packaging – North America is partnering with Stevens Point Brewery to supply its glass beer bottles.

“Ardagh Glass Packaging enjoys partnering with craft brewers like Stevens Point Brewery to supply locally produced, sustainable glass bottles for their craft beer,” said Ardagh vice president Rashmi Markan in a press release. “Our close proximity to one another allows for better collaboration to align production processes and quality all the way from Ardagh’s manufacturing lines to Stevens Point Brewery’s filling lines.”

Ardagh operates glass manufacturing facilities in Dunkirk and Winchester.

Firm agrees

Leeward Renewable Energy last week announced two power purchase agreements with Microsoft.

The agreements detail that Microsoft will buy the power from two 200-megawatt Leeward solar facilities in Frio County and Brazoria County in Texas. The facilities are expected to be operational by late 2024 and late 2025, respectively.

“We are honored to collaborate with Microsoft in our joint commitment to accelerate the energy transition with the addition of these clean energy projects,” said Leeward CEO Jason Allen in a press release. “We look forward to strengthening our relationships with Frio County and Brazoria County as we develop and operate the two facilities and deliver substantial and transformative benefits for local residents and communities for years to come, all while we support U.S. manufacturing.”

Leeward is planning a solar facility north of Dunkirk.

Adding donuts

McDonald’s announced last week that it will begin serving Krispy Kreme donuts later this year.

Glazed, chocolate iced with sprinkles and chocolate iced kreme-filled donuts will be phased into McDonald’s locations beginning later this year. They are expected to be available. In all of its U.S. locations by the end of 2026.

“Since the launch of breakfast nearly 50 years ago, we’ve continued to offer new menu items, flavors and experiences that have made McDonald’s an irreplaceable part of fans’ morning routines,” said Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s USA’s chief marketing and customer experience officer in a press release. “This partnership is an exciting next step in that journey and a chance to unlock new business opportunities in the breakfast category and throughout the day.”

McDonald’s ran a test of offering Krispy Kreme donuts at 160 locations in Kentucky.

Investing in Phoenix

CVS Health last week announced more than $3 million in grants to support Phoenix-area organizations working to increase equitable access to health care.

The investments include $2.1 million over three years in three organizations that support integrated diabetes management services. CVS is also working to provide education about air pollution.

“No two communities are the same,” said Sheryl Burke, CVS senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and chief sustainability officer, in a press release. “That’s why we are constantly looking for ways to pull together all our community-based and sustainability efforts — like here in Phoenix —  to make a meaningful impact and collaborate with organizations who know the community best to address the unique barriers to improving health outcomes.”