TENNESSEE, USA — Springdale-based Tyson Foods said Tuesday (Dec. 21) it plans to build an on-site childcare and learning facility at its new Humboldt, Tenn., poultry processing plant. This comes on the heels of another program underway in Tyson’s beef packing plant located in Amarillo, Texas.
The $3.5 million Humboldt facility, expected to be operational in 2023, will support up to 100 children, five years of age and younger, and employ a staff of 18. Called Tyson Tykes, it will be operated as an early childhood learning center by a third-party provider, Kindercare. The service will also be subsidized by the company to lower the cost for Tyson employees.
The Center for American Progress reports the national average cost of care for one child in a center is roughly $10,000 per year and exceeds what most families can afford to pay. Research also shows children enrolled in early childhood education programs have greater high school graduation rates, increased IQ scores, higher career earnings, and are less likely to commit a crime as they enter adulthood, according to the report.
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