You’ve likely noticed some empty store shelves as American consumers flock to retail grocery and club stores in response to the spread of COVID-19. We take our role to feed the world very seriously. That’s why we’re committed to ensuring the continuity of our business and the availability of our products to consumers across the nation. We’re shifting some of our chicken, beef and pork production from foodservice to meet the surge in demand for retail food products.
Clearly stated, the food supply in the U.S. is more than sufficient and we’re taking a variety of measures to meet the shifting increase in demand now, and to ensure a steady supply moving forward. There is plenty of food available. We are working closely with our retailer partners to ensure our products are on their shelves, so that you have what you need to feed your family.
With more than 100 food production plants in the U.S., our unique scale allows us to quickly adjust and meet the current demand at grocery and other retail stores. We’re working collaboratively with our customers to fill and ship orders as rapidly as possible. In some cases, our capability to shift processes in individual plants is allowing us to quickly pivot to producing retail items. For example, changing packaging from a foodservice product to a retail product can occur quickly because of the built-in flexibility of our operations.
While we’ve made moves like this before, this is the most significant shift we’ve ever initiated.
Jimmy Dean once said, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”
While the winds we face are both significant and sudden, our team members have responded in a rapid manner to ensure that we’re living up to our responsibility to feed the world.
In addition, during this unprecedented environment, every day, more of our friends and neighbors are depending on local food banks and community pantries to provide for their families. Tyson Foods is committed to addressing this need.
Since March 2, we’ve donated approximately 2.6 million pounds of product in 18 states and are working to donate an additional 1.5 million pounds. A total of four million pounds, or 16 million meals*, are being donated by Tyson Foods to our team members, Feeding America food banks, community pantries near our operations and other hunger relief agencies. Find a complete list of those receiving product donations here.
Note: this blog received updates on March 19 to include mention and a resource link of ongoing commitments from Tyson Foods towards hunger relief efforts.
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