At the beginning of the Digital Can Drive, we asked for your input on how to select the local partners that would receive the Tyson Foods truck deliveries in the winning states.  Your response was loud and clear: the food banks and communities that were the most active promoters of the Digital Can Drive should receive the deliveries.

We agreed with this idea and spent the past two weeks asking those who donated digital cans to let us know who led the winning states to victory. We also reviewed the blogs, Twitter accounts, and Facebook pages in each state to see what we could learn on our own.  After considering these factors, we’ve come to a decision and are pleased to announce our local partners for the Tyson Foods truck deliveries:

1. Oklahoma: Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma (Tulsa) and Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City) decided early into the contest to share their state’s victory
2. Vermont: Vermont Food Bank (South Barre)
3. Oregon: Oregon Food Bank (Portland)
4. Idaho: The Idaho Food Bank (Boise)
5. Connecticut: Connecticut Food Bank (East Haven)
6. Missouri: Harvesters – The Community Food Network (Kansas City)
7. Indiana: Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana (Muncie) will be sharing with other Hoosier State food banks
8. Tennessee: Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee (Nashville)
9. New York: Foodlink (Rochester)
10. Wisconsin: Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin (Madison)

Each food bank serves a multiple county area, some even covering their entire state.  The Tyson Foods trucks will be loaded with much needed protein and feed many, many people thru the various food agencies supplied by these food banks. The exact dates of each delivery are being determined now with the help of our local partners.  We’ll announce them when we’ve finalized the schedule.

Given the quantity of trucks, we will deliver them over the next 4-5 months. Not only will this give each food bank the opportunity to showcase their state, it will help meet the increased demand on the food bank system during the summer months when school children aren’t able to benefit from school breakfast and lunch programs.

Congratulations to these great local partners! We look forward to the upcoming deliveries and shining a bright light on hunger in America with your help.  In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be asking for your help to compile photos, videos, and written stories about hunger in your state while showcasing the good work already being done and how people can help end hunger in America.

Let us know if you’d like to help us by leaving a comment!