Smithfield Foods Expands Hunger-Relief Initiative,

SMITHFIELD, Va., Jan. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced the expansion of its hunger relief initiative, Helping Hungry Homes ^® , which spans Smithfield’s entire brand portfolio, including Smithfield ^Ⓡ , Eckrich ^Ⓡ , Nathan's Famous ^Ⓡ , Farmland ^Ⓡ , Armour ^Ⓡ , John Morrell ^Ⓡ , Cook's ^Ⓡ , Kretschmar ^Ⓡ , Gwaltney ^Ⓡ , Curly's ^Ⓡ , Margherita ^Ⓡ , Carando ^Ⓡ and Healthy Ones ^Ⓡ . Helping Hungry Homes ^® began in 2008 to raise awareness of hunger and donate high-quality, nutritious protein to food banks across the country. This year Smithfield will encourage employees across its U.S. operations to participate in donation events at over 50 food banks across the country.

“At Smithfield, we’re passionate about feeding people and committed to helping our neighbors,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods. “Across all our brands, locations and job descriptions, it’s something we all care about and expanding this initiative across the company better positions us to do more and continue to play a leading role in the fight against hunger.”

The 2017 Helping Hungry Homes ^® schedule of donation stops will focus on areas where Smithfield has operations, giving back to the communities where employees live and work. The schedule also encourages employees to further engage and participate in these activities through event attendance, employee-led food drives of non-perishable items and volunteer opportunities. Helping Hungry Homes ^® will continue to partner with across the country at these large-scale donations events.

“Each day, millions of Americans don’t know where their next meal will come from,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. “With this tour, we hope to help by providing protein – a critical part of a nutritious meal – to local food banks while inspiring others to take action in their own communities.”

Smithfield also launched a new, interactive website highlighting the 2017 donation stops. The website features locations, donation amounts and photos from giving events taking place from coast-to-coast. These donation stops will include:

Sacramento, California San Diego, California Denver, Colorado Daytona Beach, Florida Jacksonville, Florida Orlando, Florida Miami, Florida Chicago, Illinois Moline, Illinois Rock Island, Illinois Peru, Indiana Davenport, Iowa Bettendorf, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Junction City, Kansas Lexington, Kentucky Baton Rouge, Louisiana Milwaukee, Wisconsin Portland, Maine Springfield, Massachusetts Minneapolis, Minnesota Kansas City, Missouri Milan, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri Lincoln, Nebraska Omaha, Nebraska Las Vegas, Nevada Charlotte, North Carolina Fayetteville, North Carolina Greenville, North Carolina Raleigh, North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina Portland, Oregon Arnold, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Sioux Falls, South Dakota Memphis, Tennessee Austin, Texas Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Salt Lake City, Utah Richmond, Virginia Norfolk, Virginia Seattle, Washington

The first giving events of 2017 will take place in Hampton and Charlottesville, Virginia. Helping Hungry Homes ^® will deliver 30,000 pounds of protein to Virginia Peninsula Food Bank in Hampton Tuesday, Jan. 17 before delivering another 30,000 pounds to Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in Charlottesville Thursday, Jan. 19. For a complete list of donation locations, dates and times, visit helpinghungryhomes.com .

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 .  

Media Contact: Kathleen Kirkham Smithfield Foods, Inc. (757) 365-1965 kkirkham@smithfield.com