Kontos Foods Teams Up with Tyson to Aid Sandy Victims

Mediterranean foods manufacturer Kontos Foods Inc. has teamed up with two business partners— Tyson Foods and Restaurant Depot — to deliver food aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy in Staten Island, N.Y. They will be providing bread, chicken and warm meals to individuals and families who have lost their homes, or cannot return to them due to power outages or severe storm damage.

“As residents and businesspeople in the tri-state area, we all know someone who has been personally traumatized by the storm’s devastating effects. With Thanksgiving only a week away, we wanted to do something that would be immediately helpful to help those who are suffering,” said Steve Kontos, VP and owner of Kontos Foods, based in Paterson, N.J.

Donating food to the relief effort was not as straightforward as you might think, according to Donna Appy, Kontos Foods regional sales manager, who helped coordinate the relief effort.

“In the chaos that followed the storm, many communities weren’t set up, or ready, to accept anything but non-perishable and canned goods, and sometimes not even that. We were lucky to team up with Tyson through Restaurant Depot, which has set up a Tyson ‘Meals that Matter’ mobile relief station – including refrigerated trucks – at Miller Field in Staten Island. This week, Kontos will be contributing 100 cases of flatbread to the effort,” said Appy.

Kontos suggests that any food companies or restaurants that want to help with hurricane relief, but aren’t sure whom to contact, should get in touch with their local Office of Emergency Management.