Our Response to COVID-19
Our Commitment
Seaboard Foods embraces our important role as an essential business and recognizes the great responsibility we have to protect our employees while keeping our farms and plants operating to produce food for people around the world.
As part of Seaboard Foods' efforts to adapt amid the pandemic, we continue to incorporate the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), local health departments, medical experts, and feedback from our employees in our operations. The more information we have, the more we can do to prevent the spread of the virus.
Based on guidance from these health experts and feedback from our employees, we heightened our sanitation protocols, created COVID-specific health and employment benefits for our employees' well-being, and are making improvements to our Guymon, Oklahoma, facilities to allow for greater social distancing long-term. While we're proud of our investments so far, we know our work is not finished, and we are committed to continuous improvement as we learn more about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on our community.
Employees
The health and well-being of our employees continue to be our top priority. That's why we felt it important to put into place comprehensive health, wellness, paid leave, and support program for our employees at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. We have invested a COVID-19 Leave Policy and Support Plan, which has provided our employees with the opportunity to prioritize their personal health throughout the pandemic.
To help protect our employees and reduce potential transmission, we continue to follow CDC guidance and will continue to adapt based on the transmission levels in our community. We have also committed to long-term safety measures like permanently expanding both the men's and women's locker rooms by 1,000 square feet each to accommodate 700 new lockers for employees and an industrial-grade ventilation system, as well as expanding the cafeteria and other common areas in the plant.
In addition to measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we also provide free COVID-19 testing in the plant for all employees. For employees that become symptomatic outside of their shift, car-side testing is available, and employees can call the COVID-19 hotline to arrange this service. Additionally, while we are not mandating vaccinations of all employees, Seaboard Foods hosted six vaccination clinics in 2021 at the Guymon, Oklahoma, plant, and we continue to work with nearby clinics to help employees get vaccinated if they choose to do so.
Customers
We are committed to providing high-quality, consistent pork products to our customers as they do their part to provide their communities with much-needed food. We understand the COVID-19 outbreak affected our customers around the world and we are committed to communicating with them openly and candidly about the challenges created by the pandemic, and what we’re doing to address them.
Community
Seaboard Foods is committed to supporting the communities in which we operate – and where our employees live and raise their families - and we will adjust as the pandemic evoloves to protect our employees and communities.
Regular monitoring is conducted to adjust to changing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of our employees.