Springdale, Ark. – August 30, 2016 – After nine days in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tyson Foods’ Meals that Matter® disaster relief team returned Monday after serving 130,000 meals to flood victims and volunteers.
Throughout the deployment, cook teams from Tyson locations in Vicksburg, Mississippi; Sherman, Texas; and Clarksville, Dardanelle, Nashville, Pine Bluff, Texarkana and Waldron, Arkansas, rotated duties. Team Members from corporate headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, and Tyson Foods’ Transportation also volunteered.
“From the moment we arrived in Baton Rouge, we could tell there was a significant need to feed the community,” said Pat Bourke, Tyson Foods’ corporate social responsibility program manager. “Our volunteers served a record number of meals for a nine day deployment and I could not be more proud of their effort.”
In addition to serving meals to flood victims who walked or drove up to the designated disaster relief site, the team also provided several local organizations with frozen meals to distribute throughout the community.
More than 60,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by flash flooding that tore through portions of Louisiana on August 12.
About Meals that Matter
Throughout our company’s history, our Team Members have always been quick to respond when disaster strikes in or near their communities. In April 2012, we unveiled a new tool for use in disaster response. As part of Tyson Foods’ Meals that Matter® disaster relief program, the company outfitted a 53-foot semi-trailer with enough refrigerated space to store up to 20,000 pounds of product for initial response, and dry storage to transport supplies to set up a feeding site and support for Tyson cook teams. The Meals that Matter operation is capable of feeding more than 10,000 meals per day to victims of disaster, first responders and volunteers.
About Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is one of the world's largest food companies with leading brands such as Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Sara Lee®, Ball Park®, Wright®, Aidells® and State Fair®. It’s a recognized market leader in chicken, beef and pork as well as prepared foods, including bacon, breakfast sausage, turkey, lunchmeat, hot dogs, pizza crusts and toppings, tortillas and desserts. The company supplies retail and foodservice customers throughout the United States and approximately 130 countries. Tyson Foods was founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson, whose family has continued to lead the business with his son, Don Tyson, guiding the company for many years and grandson, John H. Tyson, serving as the current chairman of the board of directors. The company currently has approximately 113,000 Team Members employed at more than 400 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world. Through its Core Values, Code of Conduct and Team Member Bill of Rights, Tyson Foods strives to operate with integrity and trust and is committed to creating value for its shareholders, customers and Team Members. The company also strives to be faith-friendly, provide a safe work environment and serve as stewards of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.
Contact: Derek Burleson, Public Relations Manager
Derek.Burleson@tyson.com, 479-290-6466