Sherwood Foundation gifts $1.1M for relief to former Tyson Foods workers in Lexington

The City of Lexington, Nebraska. (Courtesy of Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce)

By CINDY GONZALEZ, Nebraska Examiner

OMAHA, Neb — A $1.1 million gift from Omaha-based Sherwood Foundation aims to provide emergency help to former Tyson Foods employees still looking for work after the company closed its Lexington, Nebraska, plant in January.

The donation was announced Wednesday. Partnering nonprofit Lutheran Family Services is to begin accepting registrations March 9, and qualifying individuals and families should get a relief check within days, according to a LFS statement.

“Sherwood is truly honored to stand alongside LFS and the broader coalition of partners working to care for the Lexington community during this challenging time,” Liz Codina of the Sherwood Foundation said in the statement. 

Of the grant, $1 million will go to the LFS Tyson Relief Fund and $100,000 goes to support work at the LFS Lexington office activated since Tyson announced in November it would close the 3,200-employee plant. 

Codina gave special recognition to LFS’ Handy Marin-Diaz for “deeply responsive” leadership. To date, the LFS Lexington team said it has provided support to more than 1,000 people in filing unemployment claims, looking for jobs and mental health support.

“We know the people of Lexington love their community and don’t want to leave,” said Chris Tonniges, president and CEO of LFS, thanking Sherwood. “Our hope is that Sherwood’s support along with others will allow us to help make that possible for them.”

Eligible applicants must have been laid off by Tyson as part of the January closing and are encouraged to make an appointment. Funding is to be distributed as a one-time cash assistance payment.  Each eligible individual is to receive $500 to address immediate needs, according to the LFS statement. 

Arkansas-based Tyson Foods on Nov. 21 announced the Lexington plant’s mid-January closure, saying it sought to “right-size” operations as tight cattle supplies raised costs for U.S. processors. The announcement came as a surprise to most Nebraskans.

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln analysis has estimated the statewide economic loss, including both direct and ripple effects, at $3.28 billion a year. The UNL study projected that more than 7,000 jobs would be lost statewide, along with an annual labor income loss of $530 million. The higher job loss count includes employees in other industries that support the Tyson beef plant and its workforce.