SpringfieldNewsSun.com

Springfield, Ohio — A donation of 15 tons of chicken will feed thousands of local people.

"This is going to go a long way," said Keith Williamson, regional direction of Catholic Charities and Second Harvest Food Bank of Clark, Champaign and Logan Counties.

Tyson Foods and the League of United Latin American Citizens together delivered 15 tons of chicken to Second Harvest on Monday, March 23.

Distribution likely will begin on Tuesday to the 106 agencies the food bank supports, including pantries, shelters and soup kitchens.

"Center-of-the-plate food items are the hardest thing we have to try to locate," he said.

Last year, the food bank provided about 297,000 meals.

Tyson and LULAC have a national partnership. The donation Monday was the third to an Ohio food bank and two more are planned.

"It's a great time, in this economy we have, to be able to feed all of these people," said L. Tony Ortiz, president of the Dayton LULAC chapter.

Challenges such as poverty and hunger cannot be tackled alone, said Dennis Bell, region sales manager for Tyson.

"If we as a society, are going to find solutions for these challenges, we can't work in silos," he said. "We have to work together."

Statewide, soup kitchens and pantries are seeing increased demand, Williamson said, especially from people who never thought they would need assistance.

"Every day our agencies are telling us that many of their now-clients were once their staunch supporters," he said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0363 or ssommer@coxohio.com.