Football fans may have seen chicken wing shortages leading up to Super Bowl LV, but the charity Feeding Tampa Bay saw an overabundance of chicken thanks to a donation from Tyson Foods.
“Our company is committed to giving back,” said Tyson Foods Team Lead for Publix and FishHawk Trails resident Kevin Ordway. “We upped our donation from the normal 33,000 pounds of frozen chicken to 55,000 pounds since Super Bowl LV was in town.”
Two tractor trailers full of chicken containing more than 2,500 cases of chicken weighing 21 pounds each, valued at $113,000, rolled into Feeding Tampa Bay’s Mega Pantry at Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry Campus, located across the street from Raymond James Stadium. More than 2,000 families received a 21-pound box of frozen chicken in addition to their normal food boxes on February 6.
“The donation was greatly appreciated,” said Shannon Hannon-Oliviero, external affairs officer at Feeding Tampa Bay. “We stand with Tyson Foods in the fight against hunger,” she said. “It was magnificent to launch thousands into a very special weekend here in Tampa Bay, making it possible for families to celebrate Super Bowl LV with a protein-packed, nutritious meal.”
Ordway was on hand to assist with the food distribution and was touched by the reaction to his product.
“Although everyone was excited to receive the chicken, it was extra special when I loaded it into the back of a car or van and children peering over the backseat got excited about it,” he said. “They recognized the Tyson logo from their chicken nuggets.”
Inside each case was 96 drumsticks.
“I imagine they’ll be eating Tyson chicken for weeks now,” he joked.
Ordway said the company has donated more food this past year to support communities in response to the need created by the coronavirus pandemic.
“In addition to donating chicken, my team also dedicates their time by volunteering at the charity’s warehouse as well as other local charities, including Seeds of Hope, the Ronald McDonald House, Denard Span Foundation and Habitat for Humanity,” he said.
Ordway also started up a remote chapter of Tyson’s Veterans and Friends Resource Group, whose goal is to support veterans and their families beyond cities where it has offices and plants and in communities where remote team members live.
Tyson also generously loaded an additional 200 cases of product into the trucks, which were donated to Liberty Manor for Veterans, an organization that assists disabled, honorably discharged veterans who have fallen victim to homelessness.
For more information about Tyson Foods, visit www.tysonfoods.com. For more information about Feeding Tampa Bay, visit www.feedingtampabay.org. For more information about Liberty Manor, visit www.libertymanor.org.
