November 19th, 2020 – 10:00 AM
Tyson Foods an the Rome YMCA –
Tyson Foods announced today a $35,000 community grant to the YMCA in Rome, Georgia, to fund programming that provides meals to the Floyd County community.
The investment from Tyson will address ongoing infrastructure needs, including vehicles, staffing, food and equipment to support YMCA programming that has served over 100,000 meals and delivered over 500,000 pounds of food in Floyd County since March 2020.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rome YMCA has revamped its feeding programs to meet greater demand while distributing over 529,549 pounds of food to the Floyd County community. The outreach
feeding program has served 109,132 meals to children, assisted at a monthly pop-up food bank that distributes an average of 10,000 pounds of food per month, delivered each week 250 backpacks with 12
child friendly meals inside each backpack, and orchestrated the weekly delivery of 800 Farmers to Families boxes that include fresh produce, dairy products and frozen protein.
“Working together, we can do so much more to build a stronger, healthier and more unified community,” said Scott McCreless, executive director, YMCA of Rome & Floyd County. “Since March of this year, with the generous help of Tyson Foods, our community partners, donors and volunteers, the Rome YMCA has sought to answer pressing needs in our community.
Tyson was one of the first to support our pilot outreach program that has grown from a small summer camp at one site with 20 children, to a year-round, 312 days a year program at multiple sites serving hundreds of families each week.”
In the area, 96% of children qualify for free and reduced lunch and 31% of families in the county live in poverty. The grant helps support the organization’s mission to feed the community and improve the
lives of families who struggle with this unimaginable challenge.
“We’re proud to support the YMCA of Rome & Floyd County and the critical work they do to help our community, especially during these challenging times,” said Philip Bain, Rome plant manager, Tyson
Foods. “This grant is providing resources to those in need in the Floyd County community.”
Tyson Foods has donated more food over the past 12 months than ever in its 85-year history. The company donated a record 30 million pounds of protein, equivalent to 120 million meals, this year to
fight hunger. The donations were part of nearly $75 million invested to support its team members and critical needs in local communities where the company operates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than 40 million meals went directly to team members working hard to feed the country.
To learn more about the YMCA of Rome & Floyd County and how you can help, please visit https://www.ymcarome.org/.