Tyson Foods Announces 1 Million Pounds to Be Donated to Feeding America Food Banks During the 2008 Holiday Season

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) and Lift Up America teamed up with the Chicago Bulls and other professional and college sports programs to donate 33 truckloads of Tyson chicken to help restock the shelves at Feeding America's affiliate food banks across the nation.

"Our food banks are calling us every day, telling us that demand for emergency food is higher than it has ever been in our history," said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. "They are serving a significant number of new clients -- people who were once their donors, middle class workers who can no longer make ends meet, many of the half-million people who have lost their jobs in just the past two months as unemployment has climbed."

The goodwill delivery tour to fight hunger kicked off today at 3:30 p.m. on December 1 in the parking lot of the United Center, where Bulls players and mascot Benny the Bull assisted in donating a truckload of food to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, one of the 200 members of the Feeding America food bank network. Starting in Chicago, the 1 million pound donation to Feeding America affiliate food banks across the United States will be delivered within the next two weeks.

"We've continued in the fight against hunger in this country for nearly a decade now and we're hearing the call from across the nation," says Dick Bond, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. "At Tyson our goal is to support families through food donations and to encourage other companies and individuals to identify ways they can share resources and make an impact in the fight against hunger."

"Lift Up America is proud of the partnership and team spirit between these great organizations," said Dave Hannah, CEO of Lift Up America. "It is important, especially this time of year, that every company, and individual, identifies ways that they can give back."

This is the fifth year in which Tyson has partnered with Lift Up America and its network of professional and college sports teams to distribute food and create awareness of the issue of hunger.

More than 36.2 million Americans, including 12.4 million children, are food insecure. Food insecurity in the United States is rising rapidly with the downturn in the economy and employment. Feeding America food banks across the country are experiencing significant increases in requests for food assistance, especially during the holiday season. Click here for more information on rising food insecurity.

Tyson Foods is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork. As part of their ongoing commitment to hunger relief, Tyson Foods has donated more than 54 million pounds of protein to local food banks in the past year. Click here for more information on Tyson Hunger Relief.

Sports teams involved in the donations include
Chicago (Bulls)
Kansas City (Chiefs)
Miami (Dolphins)
San Diego (Chargers)
Denver (Nuggets)
Boise (Boise State)
Detroit (Lions)
Austin (University of Texas)
San Jose (Sharks)
Cleveland (Indians)
Phoenix (Suns)
Jacksonville (Jaguars)
Northwest Arkansas (University of Arkansas)
Other community donations include
Northern Illinois (St. Charles)
Texarkana, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Northeast Arkansas
Lincoln, Nebraska
Houston, Texas
Storm Lake, Iowa

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