SPRINGDALE, Ark. – With flooding continuing in the Carolinas following Hurricane Florence, Tyson Foods announced it will send teams to prepare and serve meals to those affected by the storm, as well as those providing aid.

A cook site will be set up at the Walmart store on S. Raeford Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to provide free meals starting at 11 a.m. on Sept. 20. In addition, a distribution network is being established to help deliver meals to those in need in the Fayetteville area.

Teams from Tyson Foods’ operations in Clarksville and Texarkana, Arkansas; Claryville, Kentucky; New Holland, Pennsylvania; Shelbyville, Tennessee, and Glen Allen, Virginia, will arrive Sept. 19 and begin preparations to serve meals Sept. 20.

“With more than 6,000 team members throughout the state of North Carolina the damage left by Hurricane Florence hits close to home,” said Debra Vernon, senior director, corporate social responsibility. “This deployment wouldn’t be possible without the support of our team members, disaster relief partners and customers who are all volunteering time and resources to make sure our response is as successful as possible.”

Tyson will also send its Meals that Matter mobile disaster relief truck from company headquarters in Springdale. Three tractor-trailer loads of more than 100,000 lbs. of product, one tractor-trailer load of bagged ice and one tractor-trailer load of bottled water will be taken to relief sites.

Other organizations and companies including American Egg Board, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Harris Baking Co., Hugg & Hall Equipment Co., Peppersource and Salvation Army will be assisting Tyson with relief efforts.

Team Rubicon, another disaster relief partner comprised of military veterans, has deployed two mobile command centers to North Carolina. The command centers were donated by Tyson Foods in 2014 and 2017 and include sleeping quarters as well as office and storage space for Team Rubicon’s staff and volunteers.