More than 34,000 pounds of chicken were delivered to the San Francisco Food Bank this morning to help feed hungry families in the city, according to the organization.
The donation was part of the food bank’s annual Hunger Challenge in which each participant lives on $4 per day–equal to the amount in a food stamp budget–for one week.
The chicken, donated by Tyson Foods, arrived at the food bank’s Pennsylvania Avenue headquarters around 11 a.m.
The donation was a fulfillment of a pledge by Tyson Foods to provide 100 pounds of chicken for each comment–up to 300 — on the blog post, “Who Are the Hungry People?” written by the food bank’s Gayle Keck.
Keck’s post detailed the hunger problem in San Francisco and encouraged others to support the Hunger Challenge.
The article, posted on Tyson’s Hunger Relief website, received 300 comments, and the company decided to throw in a little more, bringing the total donation to 34,400 pounds, food bank spokeswoman Stacy Newman said.
“Everything went really well,” Newman said. “Protein is the most expensive, most requested and least donated food item.”
The donation included raw and frozen chicken breasts, thighs, and tenderloins, among other parts.
The number of San Franciscans on food stamps has grown by 52 percent since 2008, Newman said.
She said more than half of the food bank’s bounty is fresh fruits and vegetables due to a partnership with Farm to Family, a statewide network of growers.
The chicken will be distributed to food pantries throughout San Francisco and Marin counties.
Hunger Challenge participants included California Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, Sherri Austin, in-kind donations manager of Tyson Foods, and various local food bloggers.
