MILWAUKEE, Dec. 04, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmland is partnering with former professional football player and Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, and Santa Claus to help fight hunger this holiday season. Dayne and Farmland are spreading the word that while milk and cookies are great, what Santa really wants this year is glorious bacon! From now through Dec. 24, for every person that pledges on social media to leave bacon for Santa this Christmas Eve, Farmland will donate one pound of protein to the local Milwaukee-area food bank.
The campaign will kick off at the Milwaukee Santa Hustle 5K at Veterans Park on Dec. 5. After commencing the race, Dayne will join Farmland and Santa’s elves to rally local residents to leave bacon for Santa this year.
“What I love about the Bacon for Santa campaign is how it combines two things I’m passionate about – giving back to those in need and my love of bacon,” said Ron Dayne. “I’m thrilled to partner with Farmland to help spread the word to add bacon to the plate for Santa to help feed the hungry this holiday.”
Fans can make the pledge by simply sharing the hashtag #BaconForSanta on their social media channels now through Dec. 24. For every pledge received, Farmland will donate one pound of protein to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, up to 25,000 pounds.
“Giving back to the local communities we serve is a cornerstone of Farmland’s core values, so we’re excited to be working with Ron and Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin to support such a great cause,” said Dennis Pittman, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for Smithfield. “With your help, we can kick off Santa’s journey with the smell of sizzling bacon – as so many do to start their Christmas morning.”
“In southeast Wisconsin, 1 in 7 people – and 1 in 5 children – do not have enough healthy food to eat,” said Charles McLimans, president and CEO of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. “We are grateful to Farmland for their efforts in helping to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in our communities and for their generosity in providing valuable protein to help ensure more families have healthy food to eat, not only at the holidays but throughout the year.”
To learn more about the Farmland Bacon for Santa campaign from Jolly Old St. Nick himself, visit www.FarmlandBaconClub.com . In addition to hearing Santa’s plea for bacon, bacon aficionados can sign up for exclusive bacon content and a chance to win a Bacon Club sweater now through Dec. 31.
For more information on Farmland, please visit FarmlandFoods.com , @FarmlandFoods or www.Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods .
Farmland is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Farmland
At Farmland, we are passionate about pork. We have been since 1959, when we first started working side-by-side with American farm families to offer the best quality pork cuts. More than 50 years later, our unsurpassed passion and pride are stronger than ever, serving retail and foodservice customers across the United States and in 25 countries on five continents. Our natural, fresh pork products — bacon, chops, loins, ribs, sausage and ham — are tender, flavorful and made with the highest quality ingredients. To learn more about Farmland's passion for pork, please visit www.FarmlandFoods.com and www.Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods .
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Nathan's Famous®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Carando® and Healthy Ones®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com .
About Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the largest, private, nonprofit hunger relief organization in the state with locations in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley. Founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is a local and independent member of the Feeding America network. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin collaborates with more than 570 partner hunger relief organizations, including food pantries, meal programs, shelters and community-based mobile pantries to provide 20 million meals annually to 377,000 people across 36 counties in eastern Wisconsin. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin also supports programs that improve food security for people in need, advocates on their behalf and works collaboratively to solve hunger.
Together we can solve hunger.
To learn more about hunger in Wisconsin, visit www.feedingamericawi.org .
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Media Contacts: Hunter PR for Farmland Morgan Calef (212) 679-6600 MCalef@hunterpr.com Farmland Diana Souder (757) 357-1675 DSouder@smithfield.com Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin Lori Holly (414) 350-0215 LHolly@FeedingAmericaWI.org
