Tyson Donates 3,200 Chickens To Salvation Army Angel Tree
Program Helps Needy Families With Christmas Meals And Gifts For Children
STAFF PHOTO DAVID GOTTSCHALK Michael Bahn, left, with Redman & Associates LLC and K.D. Graham, Salvation Army warehouse manager, unload 589 ride-on-top toys and scooters donated by Redman & Associates on Monday at one of two Salvation Army Angel Tree warehouses in Springdale. The Angel Tree program will begin distributing gifts and food this morning and Wednesday to more than 2,800 children in the Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville areas.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
SPRINGDALE — Families in need will have chicken with their Christmas dinner this year because of a donation from Tyson Foods Inc., said Maj. N.J. Pope, Northwest Arkansas area commander for the Salvation Army.
Tyson donated about 3,200 chickens to the Salvation Army Angel Tree program Monday, Pope said. The program helps families have a meal and gifts for children on Christmas. The chickens will feed 1,100 families.
“We don’t want someone to have gifts on Christmas morning and no food,” Pope said.
Many people in Northwest Arkansas need food, Pope said. The food insecurity rate in Arkansas is 19.7 percent, and the child food insecurity rate in Arkansas is 27.8 percent, according to the Feeding America website. Feeding America is an organization focused on hunger relief. Food insecurity refers to a person or family not knowing where their next meal will come from, according to the website.
There’s a tremendous need out there,” Pope said. “The economy has made it even worse.”
By The Numbers
Food Insecurity
19.7 percent: Arkansas food insecurity rate.
27.8 percent: Arkansas child food insecurity rate.
14.5 percent: U.S. households in 2010 that were food insecure.
560,000: People in Arkansas who are food insecure.
200,000: Children in Arkansas who are at risk of hunger.
Source: Staff Report
Tyson has donated to the Salvation Army for about 20 years, and has donated chickens to the Angel Tree program for the past five years, said Worth Sparkman, Tyson spokesman. Company officials feel that food is a fundamental and basic need that all families should have.
“Feeding people is in our DNA,” he said. “It’s important that people have access to food.”
It’s also important for companies to get involved in the communities they are in, said Dan Fogleman, Tyson spokesman.
Other companies also donated to the program, Pope said. Walmart donated about 400 toys and Redman And Associates, a toy company in Rogers, donated 589 toys.
Target also donated 10 gift cards valued at $100 each, he said.
Potatoes and eggs, to go with the chickens, were also donated, said Garret Krier, public relations coordinator for the Salvation Army, in an email. The potatoes were donated by H.C. Schmieding Produce Co. in Springdale, and the eggs were donated by Arkansas Egg Co. in Summers.
By The Numbers
Tyson Donations
1.3 million: Pounds of protein donated in Arkansas in 2013.
18 million: Pounds of food donated to hunger relief agencies since 2010.
$10 million: Donations to community charities since 2010.
94 million: Pounds of protein donated since 2001.
Source: Staff Report
Families will receive a $20 Walmart gift card, purchased by the Salvation Army, to buy other side dishes for their holiday meal. Families will pick up donations from the Salvation Army warehouse today and Wednesday, Pope said.