‘WeCanEndThis’ Drive Earns Two Connecticut Food Banks More Than 145,000 Total Meals from Tyson Foods

Supporters helped Nutmeg State win truckload of food in national contest

In November, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA) reported that 49 million Americans, including nearly 17 million children are food insecure. This is an increase of 36 percent over the previous year.

In Connecticut, 911 people committed to do their part to end hunger in America as part of WeCanEndThis.com’s digital can drive contest. As a result, Tyson Foods donated more than 35,000 total pounds of much-needed protein to Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare on May 19.

“We greatly appreciate this donation from Tyson Foods and the innovative WeCanEndThis.com campaign. This donation will bring protein-rich food that our soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters need and want for the people they serve,” said Nancy L. Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Connecticut Food Bank. “This gift is symbolic of what we as a community can do if we come together, commit to the fight against hunger, raise the public’s awareness and feed people.”

WeCanEndThis.com is a yearlong initiative to shift the conversation about hunger in America and create real, tangible solutions to fight the problem. On March 4, Feeding America, Share Our Strength, Tyson Foods and other corporate sponsors kicked off a 15-day digital can drive to reward people who committed to give, share, or volunteer by donating a digital can of food to the state of their choice. The top 10 states with the most cans each won a semi-truckload of real food. Overall, 19,685 people pledged to do their part to fight hunger in America. Connecticut placed fifth with 911 digital cans.

In Connecticut, there are an estimated 390,000 people at risk of hunger each year. Together, Connecticut Food Bank and Foodshare distributed 30.7 million pounds of food throughout the state in 2009—an average of about 59 tons of food every business day. The majority of this food goes to the 1,000 partner agencies including community kitchens, shelters and food pantries that rely on the food banks’ support. On average, Connecticut Food Bank alone distributes 119,653 grocery carts of food per year – so many carts that if you lined them up, they would reach from its main warehouse in East Haven to Norwalk and back.

“It’s more urgent than ever to bring support and hunger relief to food-insecure families throughout the U.S.,” said Donnie Smith, president and CEO for Tyson Foods. “At Tyson, our Team Members are proud to be part of the ongoing relief efforts.”

Since 2000, Tyson Foods has been a leader in the fight against hunger. The company is actively engaged in food-donation events and fund-raising activities year-round to benefit those in need. The protein given by Tyson today brings the company’s total in-kind donations since 2000 to more than 75 million pounds. This milestone equates to more than 296 million meals donated to food banks and agencies serving local communities around the country. Last year alone, Tyson donated nearly eight million pounds of protein to Feeding America. For more information on how to get involved in the fight against hunger, go to http://hungerrelief.tyson.com/.