PHOENIX, Oct. 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield’s Helping Hungry Homes campaign partnered with Bashas’ this morning to provide more than 50,000 pounds of protein to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance. The donation, equivalent to more than 200,000 servings, will help alleviate hunger in Arizona, the state with the third-highest rate of child food insecurity in the country.
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Representatives from both companies presented the donation to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance during an event, where speakers discussed the importance of donations like this in Arizona, where nearly 18 percent of residents are food insecure, meaning they do not know the source of their next meal.
Helping Hungry Homes, now in its eighth year, is Smithfield’s coast-to-coast campaign to help Americans become more food secure. This year, the program will help fight hunger through more than 35 large-scale protein donations to food banks across the United States totaling more than 4.5 million servings. To date, Helping Hungry Homes has provided more than 41 million servings of protein to food banks across America.
“Protein is one of the hardest food items for food banks to obtain, so this donation from Smithfield is both welcomed and needed,” St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance president and CEO Tom Kertis said. “With one in five Arizona families and more than one in four children food insecure, these types of donations help St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance fulfill its goal of reaching as many of our state’s hungry as possible. We thank Smithfield for their continued support of our food bank and food banks across the country.”
“Bashas’ has been committed to the local community since our first store opened nearly 85 years ago. Being a good steward of our community was a founding principle for our organization,” says Ashley Shick, director of communications & public affairs. “It is an honor to partner with companies like Smithfield to support the great work that St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance does to feed hungry families across our state.”
“Smithfield is thrilled to have retail partners like Bashas’ who help support the mission of the Helping Hungry Homes program to raise awareness of hunger and fight food insecurity,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. “We’re proud to provide more than 200,000 servings to St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance through this donation to help feed our neighbors in need.”
About Smithfield A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, establishing the town as the “Ham Capital of the World.” From hand-trimmed bacon and slow-smoked holiday hams to marinated tenderloins, Smithfield brings artistry, authenticity and a commitment to heritage, flavor, and handcrafted excellence to everything it produces. With a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts, the company services retail, foodservice, and deli channels across the United States and 30 countries abroad. All of Smithfield’s products meet the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about how Flavor Hails from Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com , www.Twitter.com/SmithfieldBrand , and www.Facebook.com/CookingWithSmithfield . Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods is a $14 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®, Nathan's Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, John Morrell®, Cook's®, Kretschmar®, Gwaltney®, Curly's®, Margherita®, Carando®, Healthy Ones®, Krakus®, Morliny®, and Berlinki®. 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 Bashas’ Bashas’ Family of Stores – the family-owned grocer that operates Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Eddie’s Country Store, and both Bashas’ and Bashas’ Dine supermarkets – is an Arizona-based company founded by brothers Ike and Eddie Bashas, Sr. With more than 100 grocery stores, it is one of the largest employers in the state and one of the Best Places to Work in Arizona. Since the company’s inception in 1932, Bashas’ has given back more than $100 million to the communities it serves. For more information, visit www.bashas.com .
About St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance Now in its 49th year of serving Arizona, St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is a non-sectarian, nonprofit organization that alleviates hunger by efficiently gathering and distributing food to 474 partner agencies at 600 locations that serve the hungry. Serving 13 of Arizona’s 15 counties, the organization is a member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks, and is committed to volunteerism, building community relationships, and improving the quality of life for Arizonans in need. In Fiscal Year 2015-16, the Food Bank distributed nearly 74 million pounds of food to families and individuals and garnered more than 273,000 volunteer service hours. Web site: www.StMarysFoodBank.org Phone: 602-242-FOOD.
Media Contacts: Hunter PR for Smithfield Elisabeth Garcia (212) 679-6600 egarcia@hunterpr.com Bashas’ Ashley Shick (480) 201-2030 ashick@bashas.com St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance Jerry Brown (602) 343-3160 jjbrown@firstfoodbank.org
