Kicking off Hunger Action Month and Hunger Action Day on Sept. 15, Tyson Foods is donating $2.5 million to Feeding America partner food banks.
Tyson also says that it’ll be donating 2.5 million pounds of protein, the equivalent of 10 million servings of protein, to ensure equitable access for communities experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity.
“People are working hard to provide for themselves and their families, yet one in 10 Americans experience food insecurity, including nine million children,” said Erika Thiem, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Feeding America. “Tyson’s continued partnership, and their focus on equitable access, brings us one step closer to an America where no one is hungry.”
Tyson Foods says that it will allocate $800,000 of its donation to support Equitable Food Access grants, which aim to improve access to nutritious food among people experiencing the highest rates of food insecurity.
The remaining $1.7 million donation will support efforts to maintain and expand the capacity of eight protein “pack rooms” across the Feeding America network of local food banks.
Primarily used to repack bulk or private-label protein products into family-size quantities, protein pack rooms increase the types of protein that can easily be donated and distributed. Considering the high demand for perishable items, such as high-quality meat, food banks need the proper infrastructure to fulfill the food safety and temperature requirements for storing, repacking, and shipping fresh and frozen products.
“At a time when millions of people across America face hunger, we’re proud to continue our partnership with Feeding America to help provide families and communities with access to nutritious, quality foods,” said Tim Grailer, senior director of social impact at Tyson Foods. “Hunger doesn’t have a season, but in September, we’re taking extra steps to raise awareness of food insecurity and show how much good food can do.”
Since 2020, Tyson Foods has donated more than 41 million pounds of protein valued at approximately $82 million to the Feeding America network of 200-member food banks and 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries, and meal programs. In the last year alone, the company has donated nearly 22 million pounds of protein — the equivalent of more than 85 million servings of protein — to the Feeding America network. Donation events are scheduled throughout Hunger Action Month.
Company members are even getting in on the action. At the company’s headquarters in Springdale, Ark., employees are tracking their fitness activities as part of its “Living Well at Tyson Foods” initiative.
For each mile (or equivalent activity), the company will donate two pounds of protein and a financial match from peer-to-peer fundraising.
The additional contributions will be totaled at the end of September and distributed to Feeding America, to donate over a million pounds of protein.
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