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22/12/2025

Corteva backs community wellbeing with volunteering and donation program

At the bustling Foodbank distribution centre in Sydney, volunteers from Corteva Agriscience recently joined charity workers to pick, pack and sort essential food items destined for Australians facing food insecurity.

The day’s work was one part of Corteva’s ongoing drive to support not-for-profit organisations rising to the challenge of supporting health and wellbeing across the country.

The Corteva team volunteering at the Foodbank distribution centre in Sydney, NSW.

Each year, Corteva employees contribute time and energy to a range of grassroots charities, with additional financial support to organisations that are the backbone of their communities.

For Communications and Sustainability Lead, Karen Deane, volunteering offers a chance to step away from the office and into the operational heart of food relief, helping at Foodbank in Sydney by packing Christmas hampers, picking orders or sorting donations.

“This year, our team helped with food rescue, moving almost 14 tonnes of food, enough to create approximately 23,135 meals for individuals and families doing it tough at this time of year,” Karen said.

“It’s important to us to do our bit for this wonderful cause and it is a bonding experience for our team. We’re lifting boxes together and helping each other, so it’s quite physical and a good workout for those of us who are usually in an office environment.”

Statistics from Foodbank’s Hunger Report 2025 show the need is growing. One in three households (3.5 million homes) are struggling to put a meal on the table.

Nearly one in two rental households report as food unsure; almost 7 in 10 (67%) households that have a person with a disability or health issue now experience food insecurity; and a similar proportion of single-parent households (68%) are now food insecure.

“These are scary statistics when it’s happening on your doorstep, but they enable us to understand, empathise and sympathise with what people are going through,” Karen said.

“Corteva Agriscience also provides support and funding through a non-profit partner called GlobalGiving, and this year the company successfully applied for AUD $15,000 in funds for Foodbank.

“Foodbank is struggling to get enough donations these days, so our little bit does help.”

Amelia Dennis, Nick Koch and Karen Deane representing Corteva at the Active Farmers’ Games.

Community give-back hours

The health and wellbeing of communities is at the heart of Corteva’s Global Community Investment Purpose Pillars, which have a threefold aim: to support programs that ensure access to food and nutrition, to educate youth and build a diverse agricultural workforce for the future, and to improve the quality of life in the communities where the company works.

It makes volunteering a part of work life at Corteva Agriscience with employees receiving community give-back hours every year and many using them to volunteer at their local fire brigade or sporting clubs.

Supporting Active Farmers

Corteva also contributes financial support to programs like Active Farmers, to keep people in farming communities mentally and physically healthy.

Corteva’s sponsorship of Active Farmers for the past eight years has helped to boost rural health awareness and provided valuable volunteering opportunities for staff.

Active Farmers provides group fitness classes led by local, qualified trainers in 42 regional communities throughout Australia, to enhance physical and mental wellbeing.

Karen Deane said Corteva employees have been enthusiastic participants in events like the Active Farmers’ Games, Run for Resilience and Ride for Resilience.

“We like to physically attend and sometimes we take our kids to the events too,” she said.

“It’s not always taking part in the actual running or riding event. We might man the water or refuelling stations or help with food. It’s whatever we can do to lend a hand.”

Combining sponsorship triples the impact

Corteva aims to combine its sponsorship efforts, where possible, for greater effect.

“For the Active Farmers’ Games at Coleambally in the Riverina of NSW, we invited another organisation that we sponsor, the Melanoma and Skin Care Awareness Network (MSCAN), to offer free skin checks,” Karen said.

“It was a bit challenging for some people who were caked in mud after competing in the Games, but just having access to MSCAN dermatologists in a remote area was a bonus for the Coleambally community, because normally they’d have to travel a long way to see a skin specialist.”

Corteva Agriscience recently became a sponsor of the Fat Farmers Rural Health Initiative in South Australia, and now that it’s joined forces with Active Farmers, they’ll continue to promote physical activity, mental health support, and social connection opportunities through the merged organisation.

Corteva also sponsor MSCAN, who attended the Games to offer free skin checks to participants.

One trusted organisation supporting another

Fat Farmers Rural Health Initiative CEO, Richard Sheppy, said the sponsorship makes a big difference.

“As a not-for-profit, we are always looking to align with organisations that have similar values to us,” Richard said.

“Corteva Agriscience operates in the rural space where we are a grassroots organisation, so it’s really a case of one trusted organisation supporting another.”

Richard said with Active Farmers and Fat Farmers starting around the same time and with similar values and vision, the merger effectively doubled the reach for increased impact while removing duplication.

“Rural not-for-profit is a tough space to be in,” he said.

“We’re all chasing the same sponsorship, whether it’s corporate, grants or government, but I’d like to think we can demonstrate that a collaborative model trumps a competitive model.

“In our sponsors, we look for a common vision and the awareness of how important it is to support the communities that we operate in, and Corteva fits that bill very well.”

Karen Deane said helping regional communities in Australia was especially important given the geographic isolation many experience.

“Our rural and regional areas are so remote that the sheer size of the country means people can be living a long way from basic health services, “she said.

“One of our company values is to enrich lives, and helping these communities to flourish is close to Corteva’s heart.”

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Corteva backs community wellbeing with volunteering and donation program

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