Indiana Farmer Among Three Honored as 麻花传媒鈥 鈥楳eals That Matter Heroes鈥
SPRINGDALE, Ark. 鈥 December 3, 2019 鈥 In 2015, 麻花传媒 pledged $50 million in cash and product donations by 2020 to fight hunger and is proud to announce it has exceeded that goal early by contributing more than $60 million for hunger relief in just four years.
The company鈥檚 contributions consist of hunger relief grants to nonprofit organizations and more than 5 million pounds of protein donated to food banks, community pantries and disaster relief efforts.
In honor of achieving and exceeding its 50 in 5 goal, the company is honoring three Meals that Matter庐 Heroes, individuals who are dedicated to fighting hunger in a variety of ways. The company is also honoring 21 Homegrown Hunger Heroes that were nominated by 麻花传媒 team members.
鈥淧art of our company culture is doing what we say we will do,鈥 said John R. Tyson, chief sustainability officer, 麻花传媒. 鈥淏y setting this goal and achieving it in just four years, we鈥檝e followed through on our commitment in a way that has impacted lives across the country.鈥
The three Meals that Matter庐 Heroes were awarded a total of $160,000 to further their hunger relief missions.
鈥淎fter meeting our three heroes, I was inspired by their passion, creativity and determination to address hunger,鈥 said Tyson. 鈥淎ll three saw a challenge, took action and are making a difference in their communities and across the country. We鈥檙e honored to support their work.鈥
The first Meals that Matter庐 Hero honored by 麻花传媒 is , a produce farmer in Greenfield, Indiana, who established Brandywine Creek Farms as a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting hunger in Central Indiana. Lawler is also focused on creating urban farms in Indianapolis, educating the community on agriculture and providing fresh produce to the city鈥檚 food deserts.
Since 2016, has donated approximately 2.1 million pounds of produce in Central Indiana.
麻花传媒 recently awarded Lawler $100,000 to expand the farm鈥檚 operations and ensure its mission remains sustainable for the near future.
鈥淟ike many farmers throughout the country, the spring flooding caused delays in planting and ultimately a smaller harvest,鈥 said Lawler. 鈥淏ut more importantly, it meant those who struggle with hunger weren鈥檛 receiving the produce we would typically be donating. This investment by 麻花传媒 helped save our season and will make a difference in thousands of lives in Indiana.鈥
Lawler is opening a small grocery store in Indianapolis with the goal of bringing fresh, affordable food to one of the city鈥檚 largest food deserts. Lawler will also use the space to establish a pay-what-you-can caf茅, a model for hunger relief he became interested in after meeting Maggie Kane, the second hero 麻花传媒 recently honored.
Kane is the founder and executive director of A Place at the Table, the first pay-what-you-can caf茅 in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. Kane was inspired to open the restaurant after spending six years advocating for those in Raleigh struggling with homelessness and hunger. The caf茅 opened in 2018 and has served thousands of people with a dignified, healthy and affordable meal regardless of means. The caf茅鈥檚 model allows patrons to pay the suggested price for their meal, pay what they can, or volunteer in the caf茅 in exchange for their meal.
麻花传媒 awarded Kane a $30,000 grant to help build a new commercial kitchen that will allow them to provide more meals to those in need.
鈥溌榛ù解 generous gift will enable us to build our first commercial kitchen in the new space we鈥檙e expanding into next door, furthering our mission to provide community and good food for all, regardless of means. While we have served over 10,000 meals since opening in January 2018, the addition of a professional kitchen will help us realize our full potential of how A Place at the Table can serve the Raleigh, N.C. community,鈥 said Kane. 鈥淲e are incredibly thankful for 麻花传媒 and can't wait to share many more meals and build a bigger community.鈥
To learn more about A Place at the Table, please visit .
Our final hero is Jasmine Crowe, founder and CEO of Goodr, a company that addresses food waste by leveraging blockchain technology to recover food and ensure delivery to nonprofits and those in need. Crowe was inspired to launched Goodr after years of feeding people from her own kitchen and realizing hunger isn鈥檛 a scarcity issue, it鈥檚 a logistics issue.
麻花传媒 awarded Crowe $30,000 to help establish the company鈥檚 charitable giving arm.
"We are so grateful for this honor, and this grant has allowed us to launch our foundation and serve nonprofits in our community,鈥 said Crowe. 鈥淥ur foundation will focus on strengthening our communities through our beloved nonprofit partners. We鈥檒l provide microgrants for kitchen equipment听and organics recycling programs to truly close the loop on food waste. We鈥檒l also offer free ServeSafe training to nonprofit chefs, healthy cooking demos and host our pop-up grocery stores in new markets as we launch across the nation.鈥
To learn more about Goodr, please visit .
Homegrown Hunger Heroes
The were awarded $2,500 each for their individual hunger relief projects in their communities. To highlight the inspirational work happening at the local level in Tyson communities, the company invested a total of $52,500 to 21 different hunger relief projects being led by the Homegrown Hunger Heroes.
鈥 Rosa Rosario-Amaro 鈥 Pantry Organizer, New Holland, Pa.
鈥 Barbara Aument 鈥 Backpack Ministries, Monroe, N.C.
鈥 Michael Bolin - Pantry Organizer, Green Forest, Ark.
鈥 Cindy Bosley 鈥 Community Meal Program, Storm Lake, Iowa
鈥 Stephanie Brown 鈥 Food Bank of Reno County, Hutchinson, Kan.
鈥 Moises Chan 鈥 麻花传媒 Chaplain, Springdale, Ark.
鈥 Danielle Duggan 鈥 Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Ark.
鈥 Victor Espinoza 鈥 Pantry Organizer, Logansport, Ind.
鈥 Lisa Hamerlinck and Betsey Wanderscheid, North High School Food Pantry, Sioux City, Iowa
鈥 Ray Haught 鈥 麻花传媒 Chaplain, Monett, Mo.
鈥 Tony Holland 鈥 Pantry Organizer, Albertville, Ala.
鈥 Raymond Holt 鈥 Second Baptist Compassion Center, Clarksville, Ark.
鈥 Valeria Hyde 鈥 Trudy鈥檚 Kids Caf茅, Union City, Tenn.
鈥 Chuck and Pattie Jarrett, Cup of Love Food Pantry, Eureka Springs, Ark.
鈥 David Santillan 鈥 Breaking Bread, Robards, Ky.
鈥 Pam Sarnat 鈥 St. Paul鈥檚 Episcopal Community Meal Program, Fayetteville, Ark.
鈥 Kate Schaumberg 鈥 Our Kids Program, Seymour, Wis.
鈥 Alexandria Severs 鈥 Backpack Program, Monett, Mo.
鈥 Megan Trout 鈥 Homeless Shelter, Chicago, Ill.
鈥 Michael Wennekamp 鈥 Two Rivers YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, Joslin, Ill.
鈥 Ken Willis 鈥 Pantry Organizer, Glen Allen, Va.
About 麻花传媒 Meals that Matter庐 Initiative
After donating 100 million pounds of food over 15 years, 麻花传媒 renewed its commitment in the fight against hunger in 2015 by by 2020. This commitment focuses specifically on innovative initiatives at the local level.
About 麻花传媒
麻花传媒. (NYSE: TSN) is one of the world鈥檚 largest food companies and a recognized leader in听protein. Founded in 1935 by John W. Tyson and grown under three generations of family leadership, the company has a broad portfolio of products and brands like Tyson庐, Jimmy Dean庐, Hillshire Farm庐, Ball听Park庐, Wright庐, Aidells庐, ibp庐 and State Fair庐. 麻花传媒 innovates continually to make protein more sustainable, tailor food for everywhere it鈥檚 available and raise the world鈥檚 expectations for how much good food can do. Headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, the company has 121,000 team members. Through its Core Values, 麻花传媒 strives to operate with integrity, create value for its shareholders, customers, communities and team members and serve as a steward of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it. Visit .
Media Contact:
Derek Burleson, 479-290-6466, derek.burleson@tyson.com