NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 18, 2025--
This Hunger Action Month, HelloFresh, the world’s leading meal kit provider, is reaffirming its commitment to fighting hunger as it commemorates a significant milestone in its relief efforts: 10 million meals donated through its Meals with Meaning program.
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Hunger Action Month, observed every September, is dedicated to raising awareness and encouraging people to take action to fight food insecurity. This year, the crisis of hunger is intensified by rising grocery costs and cuts to critical programs like SNAP, creating a perfect storm for families in need and the community-based organizations that serve them.
“At HelloFresh, fighting hunger isn’t just something we do in September; it’s a year-round mission, powered in part by our amazing community, NGO, and corporate partners,” said Jeffrey Yorzyk, senior director of sustainability at HelloFresh North America. “Between inflation hitting hard, critical social safety nets shrinking, and food banks across the country feeling unprecedented demand, the need for immediate action has never been more urgent. We want our customers to know that we are in this fight together for the long haul — and while we’re proud to have donated 10 million meals, we look forward to the day when healthy meal options become more accessible for all.”
10 Million Reasons to Celebrate: Meals with Meaning
Every week, HelloFresh delivers 32,000 free, wholesome meal kits with easy-to-follow recipes to people in need where the company has distribution centers: New York City, Newark, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Phoenix. This month, just over five years after the program’s inception, HelloFresh and its partners surpassed 10 million meals donated through this initiative — a testament to the power of on-the-ground partnerships and consistent action. HelloFresh will remain steadfast in this commitment with the hopes of reaching more than 20 million meals over the next few years.
Filling the Gap for Families
In addition to the meals donated through Meals with Meaning, HelloFresh has a robust year-round commitment to fighting childhood food insecurity through its partnership with No Kid Hungry. Hunger drastically increases for families when kids are out on school breaks and lack school meal options. That's why HelloFresh and No Kid Hungry have teamed up to fill the hunger gap for children and families in need during spring, summer and winter breaks.
Empowering Individuals through LimeAid
Beyond its partnerships, HelloFresh continues to provide direct, tangible support to individuals facing hardship through its LimeAid program. Anyone can nominate a friend, family member or neighbor for a chance to receive three months of free HelloFresh meal kits by visiting this link. Last year, HelloFresh helped around 100 households through the program.
How to Get Involved
HelloFresh offers several ways to join the fight against hunger. Customers can donate the value of a skipped delivery directly to local partners supporting families in need simply by selecting “donate your box” at checkout. For those looking to make a monetary contribution, HelloFresh encourages direct donations to No Kid Hungry. Furthermore, anyone can nominate a friend, neighbor or loved one to receive free HelloFresh boxes for three months.
ABOUT HELLOFRESH
HelloFresh is the world’s leading meal-kit company, providing customers with fresh, high-quality ingredients to cook delicious meals at home. By delivering pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes directly to customers' doors, HelloFresh helps busy individuals and families enjoy home-cooked meals without the hassle of meal planning and grocery shopping. HelloFresh was voted the Most Trusted Meal Kit Delivery Service in America from 2021 through 2023 by Newsweek. For more information, visit www.hellofresh.com or follow HelloFresh on Facebook, X, Instagram, or TikTok.
ABOUT HELLOFRESH GROUP
The HelloFresh Group is a global food solutions group and the world's leading meal kit provider. The HelloFresh Group consists of eight brands that provide customers with high-quality food and recipes for different meal occasions including HelloFresh, Green Chef, EveryPlate, Chefs Plate, Factor, Youfoodz, The Pets Table and Good Chop. The Company was founded in Berlin in November 2011 and operates in the USA, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia, Austria, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, France, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Ireland and Spain. In Q1 2024 HelloFresh Group delivered over 272 million meals globally. HelloFresh SE went public on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in November 2017 and is currently traded on the MDAX (Mid-Cap German Stock Market Index). For more information, visit www.hellofreshgroup.com.
10 million meals have been donated through the HelloFresh Meals with Meaning program.
LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A small town in rural Nebraska is losing its biggest employer, a Tyson Foods' beef plant, which will be laying off 3,200 workers next month in a town of around 11,000 people.
Lexington, Nebraska, is expected to lose hundreds of families who will be forced to move away in search of other work. The exodus will likely cause spinoff layoffs in the town's shops, restaurants and schools.
The impact on the town and workers will be “close to the poster child for hard times,” said Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Indiana’s Ball State University.
All told, the job losses are expected to reach 7,000, largely in Lexington and the surrounding counties, according to a report from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, released Monday. Tyson employees alone will lose an estimated $241 million in pay and benefits annually.
It threatens to unravel a town where the American Dream was still attainable, where immigrants who didn’t speak English and never graduated high school bought homes, raised children in a safe community and sent them to college.
Tyson says it’s closing the plant to “right-size” its beef business after a historically low cattle herd in the U.S. and the company’s expected loss of $600 million on beef production next fiscal year.
Tyson workers, business owners and town leaders spoke to The Associated Press for a report on the plant’s closure.
Here are some takeaways.
Lexington sits near the dead center of the United States, surrounded by fields of corn, grain silos and cattle.
The plant opened in 1990 and was bought by Tyson a decade later, attracting thousands of workers who labor on cleaning crews and forklifts, on the slaughter floor and trimming cuts of meat.
The town nearly doubled in population and flourished with leafy neighborhoods, recreation centers, a one-screen movie theater and a good school system. Nearly half the students in Lexington have a parent who works at the Tyson plant, school officials estimated.
Many Tyson workers have lived in Lexington for decades, building community at the plant and in the town's many churches, including Francisco Antonio.
The 52-year-old father of four said he’ll stay a few months in Lexington and look for work, though “now there’s no future.” He took off his glasses, paused, apologized and tried to explain his emotions.
“It’s home mostly, not the job,” he said, replacing his glasses with an embarrassed smile.
Thousands of Tyson workers have mortgages, car and insurance payments, property taxes or tuition costs that they won’t have an income to pay.
For many, finding another job isn't easy, particularly older workers who don’t speak English, haven’t graduated high school and aren’t computer savvy. The last application some filled out was decades ago.
“We know only working in meat for Tyson, we don’t have any other experience,” said Arab Adan. The Kenyan immigrant sat in his car with his two energetic sons, who asked him a question he has no answer to: “Which state are we gonna go, daddy?”
“They only want young people now,” said Juventino Castro, who’s worked at Tyson for a quarter-century. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the time I have left.”
Lupe Ceja has saved a little money, but it won’t last long. Luz Alvidrez has a cleaning gig that will sustain her for awhile. Others might return to Mexico for a time. Nobody has a clear plan.
“It won’t be easy,” said Fernando Sanchez, a Tyson worker for 35 years who sat with his wife. “We started here from scratch and it’s time to start from scratch again.”
Tears rolled down his wife’s cheeks and he squeezed her hand.
The domino effect could go something like this: If 1,000 families leave town, said economist Hicks — who wouldn’t be surprised if it were double that — seats would be left empty in schools, leading to teacher layoffs; there would be far fewer customers in restaurants, shops and other businesses.
Most of the customers at Los Jalapenos, a Mexican restaurant down the street from the plant, are Tyson workers. They fill booths after work and are greeted by owner Armando Martinez’s mustachioed grin and bellow of “Hola, amigo!”
If he can’t keep up with bills, the restaurant will close, said Martinez, who undergoes dialysis for diabetes and has an amputated foot.
“There’s just nowhere we can go,” he said.
Many, including City Manager Joe Pepplitsch, are hoping Tyson puts the plant up for sale and a new company comes in bringing new jobs. That isn’t a quick fix, requiring time, negotiations, renovations and no guarantee of comparable jobs.
Pepplitsch, who noted that Tyson hasn't had to pay city taxes due to a deal negotiated years ago, said that “Tyson owes this community a debt. I think they have a responsibility here to help ease some of the impact."
Asked by the AP for comment about plans for the site, Tyson said in a statement that it “is currently assessing how we can repurpose the facility within our own production network.” It did not provide details or say whether it plans to offer support to the community through the plant closure.
Two women listen during an informational meeting held by the Nebraska Department of Labor for Tyson Foods employees in Lexington, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
A worker walks through steam coming from the Tyson Foods' beef plant in Lexington, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Trucks carrying grain drive past cattle in pens at the Darr Feedlot in Cozad, Neb., Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Drivers wait in line at a mobile food bank organized by Crossroads Mission Avenue near the Tyson Foods' beef plant in Lexington, Neb., Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Two men walk past a business in downtown Lexington, Neb., Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
