Our Mission:
Enrich Lives
At Butterball® Farms, we believe flavor is more than just taste. It’s an experience that enriches and elevates every moment. It’s a connection. It’s a memory. It’s a shared experience.
Just as a single bite can transport you back to a cherished memory or the joy of discovering a new favorite flavor, our commitment to our customers, employees, and community ensures that our impact extends far beyond the plate, one delicious bite at a time.
Flavor is our Passion. Impact is our Purpose.
To “Enrich Lives” means creating positive change for our customers, our team members, , and the communities we’re part of.
It shows up in how we lead, how we listen, how we invest in people, and how we build relationships that last. Impact is not something we talk about. It’s something we practice every day.
Our Guiding Principles
How We Live Our Mission
Our Guiding Principles are the foundation of how we work, serve, and lead:
01
02
03
04
05
06
Leadership Rooted in Purpose
Purpose starts with leadership.
At Butterball® Farms, our culture reflects a belief that meaningful work and meaningful lives go hand in hand.
CEO Mark Peters leads with a deep commitment to people, community, and opportunity. His approach has helped shape a workplace grounded in support, shared responsibility, and long-term thinking. That mindset extends across the organization and informs how we invest in our teams and the communities around us.
Community Impact in Action
We believe businesses can play a meaningful role in strengthening communities. Butterball® Farms partners with organizations that share a commitment to people, opportunity, and long-term impact.
Our community involvement focuses on workforce stability, sustainability, education, and access to resources that help individuals and families thrive.
The SOURCE: Connecting People & Resources
Founded in 2003 by our CEO, Mark Peters, The SOURCE was created to support employees navigating challenges in their personal lives that can affect stability at work. By removing barriers and connecting people with the right resources, The SOURCE helps individuals stay employed, support their families, and build stronger futures.
The organization partners with businesses, nonprofits, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to strengthen the workforce and expand opportunity across West Michigan and beyond.
In 2020, Mark published a book on the founding of The SOURCE called The SOURCE: Using the Power of Collaboration to Stabilize Your Workforce and Impact Your Community. In it, Peters shares his personal story and what led him to found the organization, as well as a clear, practical, successful, and repeatable path other enterprises can take to serve their communities.
The Retention Trap: Investing in People and Workplaces
Butterball Farms believes retention is about growth, not just keeping people in place. That belief is reflected in The Retention Trap: Stop Measuring Turnover, Start Measuring Talent Investment, a book by Mark Peters that shares a people-centered approach to building engaged, stable teams.
Peters draws on more than 20 years of leadership at Butterball Farms to challenge an outdated mindset about workforce engagement and turnover. He offers a fresh, human-centered framework for how companies can view retention not just as keeping people, but as growing them.
The Butterball Farms Community Garden
The garden is a beautiful space for producing real food for our employees. We have herbs, vegetables, and flowers—all cared for by team members who volunteer their time to keep them growing strong. It’s part of our daily life at Butterball, and one of the many ways we stay rooted in purpose and in people, in the place we work.
Expanding Opportunity Through Partnership
Butterball Farms supports initiatives that focus on inclusion, access, and community strength, including:
30/2/2
30/2/2 is an initiative managed through the office of Butterball Farms’ CEO. Its purpose is to engage with employers and community partners to encourage them to consider expanding their talent pool by hiring those touched by the criminal justice system. Using their voices as enterprise and community leaders, they advocate, educate, and encourage other enterprises in the community to hire from the returning citizen population.
Thrive + Prosper
Thrive + Prosper is a collective of community leaders committed to making Grand Rapids a better place to live. Mark Peters, is proud to be part of this movement and its mission to connect changemakers with resources that drive generational impact. By partnering with Thrive + Prosper, organizations contribute to a shared vision of thriving communities through innovation, economic mobility, and a collective love for the city.
The Potter’s House School and Scholarship
The Potter’s House is an innovative school in a multicultural, urban setting near our headquarters that provides solid Christian education for a broad range of children who might not ordinarily have the opportunity to attend a faith-based school. Each year, Butterball Farms awards a scholarship to a graduating senior of The Potter’s House School in the amount of $10,000. We also continuously support the school through volunteer experiences.
The Literacy Center of West Michigan
The mission of The Literacy Center of West Michigan is to “bring about a just and vibrant West Michigan through the power of literacy.” Butterball Farms has been a partner of the organization for many years and continues to support the mission of the organization.
Over the years, Butterball has had the opportunity and privilege to work with a variety of West Michigan charities and community programs, including:
Let’s Create Something Meaningful Together
When you choose Butterball® Farms, you’re partnering with a company committed to people, purpose, and positive impact.
If you’d like to learn more about our mission, explore partnership opportunities, or share ideas for community collaboration, we’d love to hear from you.
