Tyson is providing truckloads of pre-cooked and shelf-stable meats and will match Team Member financial donations dollar for dollar.
The contributions will go to assist the relief efforts of the Salvation Army and American Red Cross. The Salvation Army is reportedly preparing to serve up to 500,000 hot meals per day to affected residents and first responders, while the Red Cross has mobilized thousands of volunteers to provide assistance.
“We’re saddened by the devastation left by this powerful storm and have joined others across the country in the effort to help those people whose lives have been disrupted,” John Tyson, chairman and CEO of Tyson Foods, said in a press release. “This disaster especially hits home to us, since those affected include thousands of Tyson Team Members who live in Mississippi.”
Tyson has already donated food for relief efforts in Forest and Vicksburg, Mississippi, where the company operates poultry plants and has also sent a truckload of product to Jackson. The company is also sending three truckloads of bottled water to central Mississippi. In addition, Tyson is providing food and a truck to transport a mobile kitchen for a disaster relief group that will be preparing meals for displaced people who have taken refuge in Prairieville, Louisiana.
Tyson will begin notifying its 114,000 Team Members today how their financial contributions will be collected and matched. Company officials hope to complete the process and send the donation to the designated relief organizations as soon as possible.
Tyson Foods, Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork and the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are marketed under the “Powered by Tyson™” strategy. Tyson is the recognized market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves, providing products and service to customers throughout the U.S and more than 80 countries. Tyson has approximately 114,000 Team Members employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world.