Supporting the communities in which we operate.
By understanding community needs and collaborating with local entities, we aim to create sustainable livelihoods for our farmer partners and their families while supporting the local economy more broadly. Our development projects, volunteering initiatives, and donations are also designed to help build local resilience, increase competitiveness, and support people in times of need.
We’re a family-owned business and believe helping communities thrive by delivering meaningful local impact will support our success for generations to come.
Key 2024 Highlights.
18 million meals donated to food banks and NGOs in 2024
24,000+ hours of employee volunteering completed in 2024
13,971 vulnerable farmers and families supported since 2018, enabling us to reach our 2025 target one year early
1,262 community members benefitted from our flagship community project in the UK, Community Shop, in its first year
25%+ increase in the income of vulnerable farmers through Project Utthan in India through transitioning to high-yield, short-term crops
Project Shakti recognized among the top three most impactful women empowerment initiatives at the 2024 Indian Social Impact Awards
Thriving Communities Spotlight.
Supporting the community with Community Shop.
In 2024, we partnered with Company Shop Group to open the Eastfield Community Shop, our new flagship community development project, located in Eastfield, near our Scarborough, UK plant. Community Shop is a social supermarket which houses three interconnected spaces: a store, a hub, and a kitchen. The store offers high-quality surplus food and household items at deeply discounted prices. The revenue raised in the store is reinvested into the Community Hub which offers personal development programs ranging from cookery clubs to home budgeting and business courses. Meanwhile, the store’s Community Kitchen offers low cost nutritious hot meals, with children eating for free every day. McCain has, and continues to, fully fund the store through product donations.
McCain Great Britain has called Eastfield home for more than 50 years and we are proud to offer this service to the community. In year one, 1,262 people benefitted from the Hub programs and cookery courses and members have saved a total of £1,453,000 GBP on their shopping.
McCain in Action.
Our teams around the world are dedicated to giving back to the communities in which they live and work. During 2024, our teams collectively completed 24,000+ hours of volunteering.
We are committed to continuing these efforts through 2025 and beyond.
Our Flagship Community Development Programs.
We are committed to the development, education, and support of farmers and families in our local communities. As part of this commitment, we invest in long-term, sustainable community development projects (CDPs) and support local NGOs.
A CDP is a project that improves the health and safety of a community or enhances its social and cultural wellbeing. We measure the number of people whose lives are directly affected and improved by these projects to help us understand their impact. When we’re looking to set up a CDP, we partner with agencies who are familiar with the local community and have experience in community project development. Our partners help us develop programs that are tailored to the community and can make a meaningful contribution to potential beneficiaries.
Our flagship community programs are our largest long-standing partnerships. Our five existing programs vary from small-scale farmer development (Campo Vivo in Colombia and Utthan in India) to female empowerment (Project Shakti in India) to youth employability (Sembrando Futuro in Argentina). Our latest project, Community Shop in the UK, launched at the start of the year in partnership with the surplus supermarket chain Company Shop Group. Through their Community Shop Program, Company Shop Group provides access to high-quality, low-cost products, and personal development programs.
Campo Vivo.
Campo Vivo is a social business in Colombia committed to alleviating rural poverty and improving quality of life for smallholder farmers through technical assistance, commercial support and training. https://campovivo.co/
Project Utthan.
A collaboration between McCain India and the BAIF Development Research Foundation, the program aims to improve agriculture production, soil and water conservation and overall quality of life for small-scale farmers and their families.
Sembrando Futuro.
Supporting young people from low-income families in the communities near our Balcarce plant in Argentina, it provides skills, training and professional guidance.
Project Shakti.
Project Shakti near our Mehsana plant in India, drives social change and improves the livelihoods of women through entrepreneurship, skills development and knowledge transfer.
Our Thriving Communities Commitments.
Read more
in our
Sustainability Report.
