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We foster a healthy and inclusive society. We strive for equitable practices that support our employees, industry and communities.

Our goal is to help the industry and our customers achieve their full potential – and that includes initiatives to support under-represented groups, specifically Indigenous communities and Peoples, women entrepreneurs, and young farmers. Barriers to entry exist, such as farmland prices, start-up costs, access to capital or credit, regulatory requirements and agriculture knowledge.

FCC seeks to have a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities where we work and live. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion has never been stronger, and we continue to close gaps and make FCC a more inclusive and equitable workplace. FCC continues to enhance our ability to attract, hire, retain, develop and advance employees who are members of under-represented groups. This year, we engaged an additional 20 diversity-serving organizations, including newcomer centres and organizations serving people experiencing disabilities. As part of our Summer Student Program, 33% of students hired during the fiscal year self-declared as belonging to an equity group.

FCC is currently executing our Indigenous Employment Equity Plan focusing on workforce supply, talent and candidate readiness; recruitment, retention, advancement and partnership; and workplace inclusion and accountability. One element involves more strategic partnerships with Indigenous-serving organizations and post-secondary institutions. This year, FCC has identified and initiated outreach to 10 Indigenous organizations across Canada. We continued our contracts with post-secondary institutions for the Indigenous Student Empowerment Fund, which provides Indigenous business or office education students with funding for food, rent, transportation, computers and household bills. We’ve also strengthened existing partnerships, including developing a new internship program between the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology and our Information Technology division.

This year, we built on the successful rollout of an all-employee Indigenous awareness training course delivered in 2019-20. We’ve extended truth and reconciliation education to consultants, casual employees and some of our external partners. We’re also in the early development of advanced Indigenous awareness training that focuses on supporting employees who work directly with Indigenous communities, enabling them to expand their knowledge, skills and cultural etiquette to build sustainable relationships.

We can make a difference when the industry comes together to fight food insecurity. Drive Away Hunger, our flagship community investment program, has been a catalyst engaging the agriculture and food community in raising food and cash donations since 2004. Whether our partners grow, produce, process or distribute, there’s an opportunity for them to help replenish food bank shelves in rural and urban communities.

This year, a record 36 million meals were donated to food banks and feeding programs across Canada. FCC contributed 2.6 million meals towards this year’s campaign, with the remaining donated by 126 agriculture and agri-food partners across Canada. FCC employees across the country participated in the program to help raise food and cash donations to support food banks and hunger programs in their communities. In addition, 200 Indigenous and rural schools each received a donation of $1,000 to support school feeding programs in their communities.

Reducing food waste is an important strategy for reducing food insecurity and combating climate change. If we use more food that’s currently available, we can provide it to those struggling and reduce pressure to produce more. In 2019, FCC donated $150,000 to one of Canada’s largest food banks to establish a repackaging line. Now in operation, it can process 1,000 kg of food per hour. This allows the food bank to accept and redistribute large quantities of surplus fruit and vegetables to organizations that feed people in need. In its first six months of operation, the repackaging line rescued over 30,000 lbs of high-nutrient food for food aid organizations. FCC continues to look for more opportunities with our partners to make an even greater impact on food insecurity and waste.

It’s important the suppliers we work with share FCC values and reflect what we stand for. Our Supplier Code of Conduct outlines our expectations and processes to help employees who manage contracts hold suppliers accountable for their ethical and moral business practices.

FCC is committed to promoting the economic growth of Indigenous businesses, communities and Peoples. We encourage Indigenous inclusion within our supply chain to support and align with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Through achieving PAR certification targets, we’re creating an Indigenous procurement policy, establishing Indigenous procurement goals and objectives, and exploring how to build relationships with Indigenous companies for future contracting opportunities. We’ll focus on providing greater access to procurement opportunities for Indigenous Peoples, educating Indigenous vendors on how to successfully capitalize on opportunities within our supply chain and promoting Indigenous labour and skill development with vendors.