Arkansas to benefit by nearly $400,000 from Tyson Foods grants

Fort SmithNews BriefsNorthwest Arkansas

by Talk Business & Politics staff ([email protected]) March 21, 2019 6:50 pm 1,001 views 

Tyson Foods announced $1.8 million in new hunger relief grants benefiting 14 states, including a combined $400,000 in Arkansas. The company said the grants work to combat hunger in communities like Rogers, Russellville, Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, Little Rock and Texarkana.

The grants were awarded in response to requests for proposals by food banks and hunger relief organizations seeking to improve the efficiency of their operations or provide support for urgent feeding programs. The grants are focused in three strategic areas: food bank capacity, mobile pantries and backpack programs.

The following grant awards were made in Arkansas:

  • Arkansas Foodbank, Little Rock– $40,560 – Mobile Pantry
  • Community Services Clearinghouse, Fort Smith– $100,000 – Backpack Program
  • Delta Regional Community Services, Pine Bluff– $57,000 – Backpack Program
  • Harvest Regional Food Bank, Inc., Texarkana– $50,000 – Mobile Food
  • River Valley Food 4 Kids, Russellville– $37,400 – Backpack Program
  • River Valley Regional Food Bank, Fort Smith– $110,394 – Freezer, warehouse equipment
  • Samaritan Community Center, Rogers– $50,000 – Backpack Program

The Community Services Clearinghouse in Fort Smith was awarded $100,000 to deliver over 50,000 backpacks of nutritious food to at-risk students in 142 public schools in the seven counties it serves. The weekend bags of food help food insecure students with much needed food for time spent away from school and be better prepared to learn come Monday morning.

“This generous grant from Tyson Foods will enable us to provide thousands of weekend backpacks with nutritious foods to at-risk students in the counties we serve,” said Chuck Goux, executive director, Community Services Clearinghouse. “Our 30-year-old Meals for Kids Back Pack program is now stabilized for the foreseeable future and we have the food items necessary to complete this current school year and beyond.”

Other states receiving hunger relief grants include Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.