MOLINE, Ill., Sept. 29, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Student Hunger Drive 2006 will soon be closer to reaching its donation goal thanks to a donation from Tyson Foods, Inc., (NYSE:TSN). Tyson Foods announced today a donation of 35,305 pounds of protein to the River Bend Foodbank in Moline, Ill. The Student Hunger Drive will begin Oct. 2 and ends Nov. 9. Tyson was expected to deliver the donation to the food bank on 12th Street in Moline at about 10 a.m. today. Of the 1.2 million people in the food bank's service area, an estimated 94,501 live in poverty. Annually, the food bank distributes more than 4 million pounds of food to its more than 250 participating agencies.
"We're excited Tyson has chosen to celebrate such a great student program with a protein donation," said Tom Laughlin, executive director of the River Bend Foodbank. "Protein is one of the more difficult items to obtain for our agencies. We see this donation as another means to provide those who need us most with a nutritious and well-balanced meal."
The Student Hunger Drive will involve 24 different schools. The program generated more than $2 million worth of donated food in 2005.
"We applaud the efforts of the Quad City area students in making this food drive so successful," said Libby Lawson, Tyson Foods vice president of media and community relations. "We want to recognize their efforts in fighting hunger locally."
The donation is part of a three-year commitment from Tyson Foods to America's Second Harvest. As part of the initiative, Tyson has pledged at least 10 million pounds of protein to the nationwide food bank network and charitable domestic hunger-relief organization. The River Bend Foodbank is a member of America's Second Harvest(r) -- The Nation's Food Bank Network.
Protein is one of the most efficient and long lasting sources of energy. The chicken donated today is one of the most concentrated sources of protein -- an essential nutrient of life. The average person -- man, woman or child -- needs to eat about 0.4 grams of protein for every pound of bodyweight, every day. This is approximately equivalent to five ounces of chicken, beef or pork.
In June, Tyson facilities nationwide kicked off a new program to raise funds and awareness for the fight against childhood hunger. The program is called Powering the Spirit(tm) and involves three key components: local fund-raising through cooking and grilling events, sales of a specially produced Tyson cookbook featuring recipes from the kitchens of Tyson team members nationwide and donation of 75 percent of the proceeds of those fundraising efforts to the community where the money is raised. Grants through the program are administered by national hunger relief organization Share Our Strength.
About Hunger Relief Nationwide
Tyson has made significant impact in their fight against hunger nationwide through a partnership with Share Our Strength(r), and America's Second Harvest -- The Nation's Food Bank Network. Share Our Strength is a nonprofit that inspires and organizes individuals and businesses to share their strengths in innovative ways to help end childhood hunger in America. America's Second Harvest is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the country with more than 200 food banks in its network.
Since Tyson's partnership with hunger relief organizations began in 2000, the company has provided more than 39 million pounds of chicken, beef and pork -- supplying more than 156 million meals with essential protein -- to benefit more than 400 hunger relief organizations across the U.S. Tyson has made a significant impact leading the fight against hunger through its ongoing partnerships with America's Second Harvest, Share Our Strength, Lift Up America and others.
According to the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey released in August 2005 which studied conditions in 2004, the poverty rate in America rose by 4 percent to 35.9 million people, one-third of which are children.
For more information on how to get involved in the fight against hunger in the Quad Cities, contact the River Bend Foodbank at (309)-764-7434. For additional information, go to www.tyson.com, http://www.secondharvest.org/ or www.strength.org