Tyson Foods Contributes 20,000 Pounds of Chicken to Veterans' Holiday Celebration
12/01/2011 - LOS ANGELES – Tyson Foods, Inc., donated 20,000 pounds of chicken to the Veterans’ Holiday
Celebration (VHC) and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank as part of an effort to feed people in need and show its commitment for hiring military veterans, reservists and their family members on Wednesday.
The donation was made in conjunction with the 19th annual VHC celebration. Approximately 4,000 veterans will be fed at the event December 4, held at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration (VA) campus. The remaining donation has been allocated to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. All told, the donation is the equivalent of 80,000 meals.
“We’re excited about this donation of protein from Tyson Foods,” said Barry Gershenson, executive director of VHC. “We appreciate Tyson supporting our country’s military veterans and also promoting hunger awareness in our community.”
On the first Sunday of every December, Veterans Affairs (VA) of Greater Los Angeles, VA Voluntary Service, more than 100 restaurants, local businesses and the community at large, along with more than 700 volunteers hold a Veterans’ Holiday Celebration event with the objective of providing a memorable meal, gifts and entertainment, as well as much needed appreciation.
The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank distributes more than 62 million pounds of food annually throughout its service area. One million Los Angeles residents, including children and seniors, receive emergency food assistance each year from the food bank and its 900 member agencies.
“This is a very generous donation from Tyson,” said Michael Flood, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. “High quality proteins, especially chicken, are an important nutritional component for our inventory and are in high demand by our agencies and clients. We are truly grateful to Tyson Foods’ commitment and support of our fight against hunger in Los Angeles.”
Earlier this year, Tyson launched the “Know Hunger” campaign to raise hunger awareness. As part of the campaign, the company released the results of a survey which found that one in four Americans is worried about having enough money to put food on the table in the next year. Another key finding is that many Americans are unaware of how serious hunger is in their own communities.
“Since we’re in the food business it makes sense for our company to donate protein to feed people in need; however, we also believe in raising hunger awareness,” said Donnie Smith, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “We’re encouraging people across the nation, including our own team members, to step forward and get involved in the fight against hunger.”
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