Hormel Foods Surpasses Water Reduction Goal and Has Record Year of Giving

AUSTIN, Minn., Sept. 7, 2017

"At Hormel Foods, we are inspired to do our part to make the world a better place. We continue to produce food responsibly for customers and consumers around the world through our five focus areas: the environment, animal welfare, our products, people and communities," said Jim Snee, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods. "I'm extremely proud of our progress and that we continue to be recognized as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens."

Some of the company's achievements in 2016 include:

• Surpassing its 2020 water reduction goal. In 2016 alone, Hormel Foods implemented projects that reduced water usage by 239 million gallons. The company remains on track to achieve all remaining 2020 environmental goals.
• Announcing its participation in the Ceres and World Wildlife Fund Agwater Challenge. Through this initiative, Hormel Foods will work with growers in its supply chain to reduce water usage and improve water quality.
• Conducting more than 2,000 audits to ensure the accountability of its animal welfare standards and also publicly announcing its antibiotic stewardship efforts.
• Continuing its sodium reduction and clean-label initiative efforts. In 2016, Hormel Foods added two additional sodium reduction product categories and initiated 47 clean-label projects.
• Continuing the advancement of its diversity and inclusion efforts. In 2016, an additional employee resource group was formed and the company achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.
• Having a record year for charitable giving, with $10.9 million in cash and product donations. This includes $7.4 million in hunger donations, a donation of 2.7 million cans of SPAMMY^® (a shelf-stable poultry product to help prevent childhood malnutrition in Guatemala), and more than $826,000 in education donations.

The Hormel Foods 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report follows the Global Reporting Initiative G4 guidelines and is in accordance with the core option. The report is designed to allow stakeholders to easily view top-line highlights through the interactive website.

For more information about the company's corporate responsibility goals and progress, please visit https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.

About Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 75 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY^®, SPAM^®, Hormel^® Natural Choice^®, Applegate^®, Justin's^®, Wholly Guacamole^®, Hormel^® Black Label^® and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the ninth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125^th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food.™ - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and https://csr.hormelfoods.com/.