| Black
Businessman Pioneers Agri-Business Venture
Popcorn Grower, Manufacturer in Midwest
Hopes to Encourage 'Ownership' Mindset Among Today's Youth
In this photo taken in February 2004, Jordon Foods
Company founder and CEO Marion Jordon (center) and
officials at Osco Drug Stores announce that some of
the proceeds from sale of Jordon Foods products sold
at Osco Stores during Black History Month would be
donated to the Niles Home for Children. This year,
Osco and Coca-Cola again featured local African-
American products in all of their stores in Kansas
City, including Jordon Foods Company. Proceeds from
this year's sale of those products are being donated
to The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.
|
Recently retired U.S. Congresswoman Karen
McCarthy of Missouri paid a visit to Jordon
Foods this summer where the company's founder
and president, Marion Jordon, Sr. gave her a
tour of the plant in Knob Noster, Mo.
|
Jordon Foods Company's headquarters
manufacturer of George Washington's popcorn is located on
1800 W. Irish Lane in Knob Noster, Mo.
Kansas
City, MO (BlackNews.com) - February is Black History
Month and while we celebrate noted black pioneers of the
past, there are many black pioneering businesses in our
midst. One such company located in the Midwest is Jordon
Foods Company, home of George Washington's All-American
Favorite Popcorn and other food products. Jordon Foods Company
is one of the few, if not the only solely African Ammerican-owned
popcorn manufacturing plants in the nation. That fact alone
speaks to the shortage of African-Americans interested in
pursuing careers in agri-business.
The
founder, chairman and CEO of Jordon Foods Company is Marion
Jordon, who also publishes along with his wife, a 32-year-old
African-American newspaper called, The Kansas City Globe.
Having been reared in the South on a farm in the early 40's
and 50's, this longtime businessman never forgot his agricultural
roots--the impetus that led him a couple of years ago to
take his passion for farming to the next level of not only
producing, but manufacturing and distributing his products
as well.
Jordan
comments, "I learned early in life watching and working
alongside my father and other brothers on our Mississippi
farm that an investment in land and agriculture is one of
the most rewarding careers one can pursue not solely for
the financial rewards a successful entrepreneur can achieve,
but for the values and work ethic that farming instills.
It is unfortunate that the percentage of blacks in agri-business
today is dismal compared to say 40 or 50 years ago. Most
of that is probably due to a lack of exposure to the agri-business
field. I hope what we have done will reverse that downward
trend and encourage more youth of today to consider it as
a career. Through offering tours of our plant, we hope to
make a difference for future generations."
Jordon
practices what he preaches about being a producer and not
just a consumer of products. The popcorn he distributes
is grown and harvested on his farm in Knob Noster, Mo.,
a small town, nearly 55 miles from Kansas City and home
to Whiteman Air Force base where the popular B-2 bombers
are located. So, besides the excitement of B-2's flying
overhead, the small town of Knob Noster, Mo., is also popping
with this relatively new popcorn and food plant development
along its major highway for all to see and visit.
Besides popcorn, the company's flagship product, its popular
line of George Washington's Favorite gourmet coffees is
quickly becoming an All-American favorite. Other products
include barbecue and steak sauce, cooking oils, homemade
apple butter, honey and pear preserves are widely sold in
major grocery stores in the greater Kansas City metropolitan
area and is shipped to various retailers throughout the
U.S. Any of the products can be purchased on line. For more
information and for links to other articles about the company
or to purchase products from Jordon Foods Company, go to
the website at: www.jordonfoods.com
PRESS CONTACT: Marion Jordon, (660) 563-2271 or (816) 835-9068,
jfc@charterinternet.com or Denise Jordon, (816) 531-5253
(Distributed Through BlackPR.com) |
Email
This Article To A Friend
