DES MOINES, Iowa, July 20, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The 35th Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) begins this weekend, and Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN), which operates eight facilities and employs 9,000 Team Members in the state, will be involved in activities throughout the ride to create awareness for the fight against hunger across Iowa.
The company will donate approximately 500 pounds of protein products for each mile of the 477-mile biking event, in what is believed to be the largest protein donation ever made in the state of Iowa. Seven truckloads of protein products totaling more than 240,000 pounds, enough for one million meals, will be distributed among all Iowa foodbanks in the America's Second Harvest network.
In addition to the product donations, Tyson Foods' Iowa Team Members will host feeding events in communities near the RAGBRAI route, and the funds raised will be given to organizations in those communities that provide feeding programs for children.
"Iowa is such an incredibly important state for Tyson Foods, with Team Members, plant communities and livestock producers throughout the state," said Dick Bond, Tyson Foods president and CEO. "We are proud of our Team Members here in Iowa, who have come together in a great way for this effort." Siouxland Foodbank in Sioux City received the first truckload of protein at a donation event this morning. Foodbanks receiving donations include:
* Friday, July 20, at 10 a.m.: Siouxland Foodbank in Sioux City (one truckload) * Tuesday, July 24, at 10:30 a.m.: Northeast Iowa Foodbank in Waterloo (two truckloads) * Wednesday, July 25, at 10 a.m.: Foodbank of Iowa in Des Moines (two truckloads) * Thursday, July 26, at 10 a.m.: Hawkeye Area Community Action Program in Hiawatha (one truckload) * Friday, July 27, at 10 a.m.: Riverbend Foodbank in Moline, Ill. (This foodbank's service area includes part of eastern Iowa and will receive one truckload.)
The money raised by the Tyson sponsored events will help local agencies target childhood hunger, which worsens in the summer months when children do not have access to school feeding programs for their meals. The funds raised at these events will be channeled directly back to agencies in the communities that host them. Over the course of RAGBRAI week, volunteers from Tyson facilities in Cherokee, Waterloo, Perry and Storm Lake will prepare more than 40,000 meals for the event's riders and observers. Each stop will feature a set menu with Tyson products such as ribeye sandwiches, beef dogs, shredded pork sandwiches, and on one day, breakfast that includes sausage patties. (EDITOR'S NOTE: For a complete schedule of Tyson Foods' RAGBRAI events, a listing of agencies receiving protein donations and menus for the grilling events, please see http://www.tyson.com/Corporate/PressRoom/ViewArticle.aspx?id=2767 )
Protein is one of the most efficient and long lasting sources of energy. The Tyson Foods products that are being donated are among 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.
Last summer, 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 42 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, go to www.tyson.com, http://www.secondharvest.org/ or www.strength.org
The Tyson Foods, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3224