Tyson Foods set up a $1 million endowment through the U.S. Poultry Foundation to support the organization's “Ensuring the Future” campaign.
“It’s no secret that the next generation will have the responsibility to feed 9 billion people by the year 2050,” said Noel White, president of poultry for Tyson Foods. “This campaign will empower young people to meet that challenge.”
The U.S. Poultry Foundation initiated the campaign to invest millions of dollars in recruiting grants to colleges and universities to help attract students to their poultry programs or expose students in other majors to poultry courses. The campaign also has funded poultry research projects. More than $8.3 million has been pledged for the campaign, which raises funds for the foundation.
“The purpose of the foundation is to attract bright, young people to the poultry industry and fund important research,” said campaign co-chairman Elton Maddox, president and CEO of Wayne Farms. “Today, our foundation is a primary industry funding source for those two critical needs. The ‘Ensuring the Future’ campaign is a unique opportunity to invest today to ensure the continued success of the poultry and egg industry tomorrow.”
In 2013, the foundation provided $183,000 in recruiting grants for six universities with poultry science departments and 14 other institutions with industry-related programs.