Sikeston, MO – Tyson Foods has awarded a $40,000 grant to Southeast Missouri Food Bank to help fight food insecurity. The funds will be used to support nutritious food distributed through Truck to Table Mobile Food Pantries in Stoddard, Scott and Dunklin counties.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant from Tyson Foods,” said Joey Keys, food bank chief executive officer. “This will help us increase our distribution efforts to make sure hungry southeast Missourians get the quality, nutritious food they need.”
Food insecurity affects one in six families in southeast Missouri and one in five children, leaving them unsure of their next meal.
“We’re proud to support Southeast Missouri Food Bank and its mission to end hunger,” said Mark Avery, plant manager of Tyson Foods in Dexter. “Enabling our partners to address food insecurity by supporting the mobile pantry program is a critical part of our hunger relief strategy.”
Food insecurity increased exponentially during the COVID pandemic as businesses were forced to close, and employees lost jobs or faced reduced hours. Many families are still struggling to catch up financially and are using the food bank’s services, Keys said.
The mobiles funded by Tyson will includes increased amounts of healthy produce and lean protein.
“Healthy food is difficult to afford on a limited budget and is the least likely food to be donated,” Keys said. “Tyson funding is instrumental in helping us provide more of these healthy items to our neighbors in need, so they don’t face skipped meals or going to bed hungry.”
Dates and times for the Tyson-funded mobiles can be found on the food bank’s website at semofoodbank.org.
About Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells®, ibp®, and State Fair®. Tyson Foods innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it’s available and raise the world’s expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 139,000 team members. Through its Core Values, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit TysonFoods.com to learn more.
About Southeast Missouri Food Bank
The mission of Southeast Missouri Food Bank is to end hunger and leverage the power of food to build healthy communities. The food bank provides food to 143 charitable and disaster relief programs in Southeast Missouri. These member agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, domestic violence and homeless shelters. Southeast Missouri Food Bank also holds regular mobile food distributions and provides monthly boxes of food to 5,350 senior citizens and weekend backpacks of food during the school year to nearly 1,200 students in 32 school districts. The food bank’s 16-county coverage area includes Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard, and Wayne counties. Those interested in helping can do so by making a tax-deductible contribution, donating food, or scheduling a time to volunteer. Visit SemoFoodBank.org for more information.