SPRINGDALE, ARK. – A family to feed and only $100 for the week. That’s the challenge millions of Americans in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) face.
More than one in seven Americans, or about 46 million people, receive SNAP benefits. The program currently provides low-income people an average of $25 per person per week. However, for some families, the money is often not enough, forcing them to turn to local food pantries and soup kitchens.
Today, Tyson Foods and Elanco held a SNAP Challenge, a hunger awareness event with teams from both companies being given just $100 each to shop for a week’s worth of food for a family of four. The teams, which included Tyson President and CEO Donnie Smith and Elanco President Jeff Simmons, shopped at a local store.
After shopping, the teams returned to Tyson’s nearby headquarters, where they presented their food purchases to a panel that judged them on criteria such as effective use of funds, nutritional value and culinary creativity. The food was subsequently donated to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and the teams discussed the SNAP Challenge experience, including ways people can get more involved in hunger relief.
“The SNAP Challenge brought us face-to-face with the real-life difficulties too many Americans have feeding their families each week,” said Smith. “It’s just another reason why our company is so committed to fighting hunger and generating more public awareness of hunger in our country.”
"This exercise re-affirms our belief that no matter who you are, or where you are, you deserve access to safe, nutritious and affordable food every day,” said Simmons. “We believe it’s important for more people to join the fight against hunger and continue utilizing existing technologies and new innovations to help feed a growing population.”
Because of the effectiveness of the SNAP Challenge, the two companies are considering repeating the exercise in some of their other plant communities.
Both Tyson Foods and Elanco are active in hunger relief. Since 2000, Tyson has donated 86 million pounds of much-needed protein to hundreds of food banks, food pantries and relief agencies in 48 states. Tyson last year helped fund the largest and most comprehensive study ever conducted on attitudes and perceptions of hunger, which found that one in four Americans worried about having enough money to put food on the table in 2011.
In 2011 Elanco announced its commitment to end hunger for 100,000 families globally. Through a partnership with Heifer International, Elanco is providing small communities in emerging countries with gifts of livestock and husbandry training to help families improve their nutritional intake and generate income. The company is also dedicated to creating a hunger-free community for children around its central Indiana headquarters. This includes providing an Elanco staff member to help form the Childhood Hunger Initiative, creating greater awareness for a summer feeding program and expanding a weekend food program.
About Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN), founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is one of the world's largest processors and marketers of chicken, beef and pork, the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products and is the recognized market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves. Tyson provides products and services to customers throughout the United States and more than 130 countries. The company has approximately 115,000 Team Members employed at more than 400 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world. Through its Core Values, Code of Conduct and Team Member Bill of Rights, Tyson strives to operate with integrity and trust and is committed to creating value for its shareholders, customers and Team Members. The company also strives to be faith-friendly, provide a safe work environment and serve as stewards of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.
About Elanco
Elanco is a global innovation-driven company that develops and markets products to improve animal health and food animal production in more than 75 countries. Elanco employs more than 2,500 people worldwide, with offices in more than 40 countries, and is a division of Eli Lilly and Company, a leading global pharmaceutical corporation. Additional information about Elanco is available at www.elanco.com.
Source: Tyson Foods