Join us for our September Member Meeting: Harvesting Hope: Helping Our Neighbors-Suicide Prevention For Farmers
If you look at diversity and inclusion, our employees are facing a lot of the same issues that our Farmer Members face. The Disability Awareness Employee Resource Group at Land O Lakes has focused programming on mental health, specifically around suicide awareness. Land O Lakes’ CEO wondered if there was a connection here with our farmers – after all, there’s a higher rate of suicide among farmers and those in rural areas. Some reports say the rate is anywhere from 1.5 to 2 times the average rate of other groups in the U.S. In 2017, the CDC released a report on suicide rates. Strikingly, the rate of suicide rose in rural communities by more than two percent from 13.1% to 15.9%, but in the urban area of the Twin Cities, it decreased, although incrementally, from 11.2% to 11.1%. An internal team made up of representatives from Member Relations, Diversity and Inclusion, and HR, found a partnership with NAMI, a mental health nonprofit that had state funding in Minnesota to help farmers and those struggling. Harvesting Hope kicked off in May 2019 in Melrose, Minnesota, and a second event was hosted later in the year in Rochester, Minnesota. The Land O Lakes team will share more information on Harvesting Hope and the impact on our Farmers and broader rural communities.
Presenters:
- Philomena Morrissey Satre- Director of Diversity & Inclusion and Strategic External Relationships with Land O’Lakes
- Corey Ramsden Scott- Transformation Engine Sr. Engagement Manager with Land O’Lakes
- Shary Kempainen- Talent Development Specialist with Land O’Lakes
- Jodi West- Business Analyst Global Dairy Ingredients and Co-Lead of DisABILITY Awareness Employee Resource Group
