Tyson Foods helps SEMO Food Bank MEAT the need

Tyson Foods donated 38,400 pounds of chicken to Southeast Missouri Food Bank. The chicken from Tyson Foods will be distributed at upcoming mobile food pantry sites throughout Southeast Missouri.

Tyson’s donation is especially important as it is challenging for our struggling neighbors on limited budgets to afford protein. Foods high in protein provide our bodies with energy and help us stay strong. High protein foods like meat are in high demand and among the top most requested items by SEMO Food Bank clients. Protein items are donated less frequently than other items, like canned goods and cereal.

“Thank you Tyson Foods for helping us MEAT the need for protein. It is contributions like this that provide critical support to our programs. More protein is requested by 43 percent of client households. Tyson Food’s contribution makes a real difference in our community,” said Karen Green, Southeast Missouri Food Bank’s Chief Executive Officer. While Americans consume over 326 billion pounds of protein each year, food banks only receive enough protein to represent 1 percent of their total distribution.

Locally, Tyson Foods has a processing plant in Dexter.

Distributing this chicken through our Truck to the Table mobile food pantries will enable many to access this special donation. While typical food pantry hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and meet the needs of many, families who are part of the “working poor” are sometimes challenged in accessing these food resources. Most mobile pantry distributions take place after 5 p.m. during the work week and on Saturdays, thereby increasing working families' abilities to access needed food and provide for both themselves and their families.

More than 1 in 5 Southeast Missouri households are food insecure. Households experiencing limitations in accessing adequate amounts of nutritious food are deemed food insecure. Food insecurity in Southeast Missouri is more prevalent than the rest of the state and nation. High rates of poverty make affording and accessing food challenging.

Southeast Missouri Food Bank and our hungry neighbors in Southeast Missouri say, THANK YOU Tyson Foods!

About Southeast Missouri Food Bank

Founded in 1985, in Sikeston, MO (formerly the Bootheel Food Bank), Southeast Missouri Food Bank provides food to charitable and disaster relief programs in Southeast Missouri. Southeast Missouri Food Bank is affiliated with Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest), the nation’s food bank network. Over 180 nonprofit hunger relief agencies in sixteen counties of Southeast Missouri benefit from the Southeast Missouri Food Bank. These counties include Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard and Wayne. Member agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters for the abused and homeless, senior citizen programs, low-income children’s programs and non-profit rehabilitation facilities. The mission of Southeast Missouri Food Bank is to promote food recovery; acquire and distribute food and household products; and provide community leadership and education on issues of hunger and poverty in an effort to alleviate hunger in the region. Those interested in helping can do so by making a tax-deductible contribution, donating food or scheduling a time to volunteer. Visit www.semofoodbank.org for more information.

About Feeding America

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive.

As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than

37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire

United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of

its forms. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow our news on Twitter at

twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.