Smithfield Annnounces Winners of 2017 Barbecue Gra

KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 11, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After receiving 180 applications (a perfect score in the barbecue world) from worthy contests around the country, Smithfield is pleased to announce the barbecue competitions that have been named recipients of the first ever Smokin’ With Smithfield Grant Program. The program is designed to provide money to deepen the prize pool for cook teams, as well as provide event support to sanctioned barbecue competitions across the United States. In total, 35 non-profit and community events were awarded a Smokin’ With Smithfield Grant to be used during the 2017 barbecue season.

“We received an overwhelming number of qualified applications,” explains Emily Detwiler, director of marketing for the Smithfield brand at Smithfield Foods. “We were astounded by the applications we received, not only the sheer volume but also the quality of these barbecue contests. We are honored to be able to invest in barbecue with the Smokin’ With Smithfield Grant Program; supporting contests this season by increasing the prize payouts to the top 20 percent of the cook teams competing. Thank you to everyone who entered and congratulations to all of our winners. We planned to award 25 $5,000 grants and are pleased to be able to extend our reach to an additional 10 contests with $1,000 grants.”

2017 Grant Program Winners March 25: Hammond BBQ Challenge, Hammond, LA March 31: Blues Hog BBQ & Music Fest, Savannah, TN

April 8: NYC BBQ Cookoff, Staten Island, NY April 14: Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash, Venice, FL April 21: High on the Hog Festival, Winchester, TN April 21: Hanor Smokin’ Red Dirt BBQ, Enid, OK May 5: Masters in May, Appleton, WI May 6: Jiggy with the Piggy, Kannapolis, NC  May 6: Show Low BBQ Throwdown, Show Low, AZ May 6: Que on the Yazoo, Greenwood, MS May 12: Esperanza Bonanza, Marion, AR May 19: Grand Lake BBQ Festival, Langley, OK May 19: Smoke on the Water, Thomaston, GA May 27: Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival, Evans, GA May 27: Westmont Red, White & BBQ Contest and Festival, Westmont, IL June 2: Smokin’ on the Summit BBQ, Unity Village, MO June 2: Historic Cocoa Village’s BBQ & Blues, Cocoa, FL June 2: Kelly Wilson Memorial BBQ, Kansas City, MO June 3: PigMania Lima, Lima OH June 9: Arcadia Valley Bar-B-Que Battle, Ironton, MO June 16: 2017 Almost Heaven BBQ Bash, Weston, WV June 23: Silicon Valley BBQ Championship, Santa Clara, CA  June 24: Willard Freedom Festival, Willard, MO July 1: Half Moon Holidays, Shiner, TX July 15: Gold Ribbin BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay, Green Bay, WI July 28: Great Texas Mosquito Festival, Clute, TX September 3: City of Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival, Bedford, TX September 9: Briscoe Ranch BBQ Cook-Off, Uvalde, TX September 15: Big Brothers Big Sisters Riverfest, Decatur, AL September 15: Tilley H-D Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic, Salisbury, NC September 17: Table Rock Boats & Bones BBQ Contest, Kimberling City, MO September 22: Wildwood BBQ Bash, Wildwood, MO Smoke 23: Smoke in the Park, Lemoyne, PA October 14: Mississippi Delta State Barbecue Championship/Cleveland Octoberfest, Ruleville, MS October 31: Hill Country State Championship BBQ Cook-Off, Lockhart, TX

Grants were awarded to barbecue events that met a number of qualifications and that fall within the guidelines of one of the sport’s major sanctioning bodies. Qualifying criteria for winning events include sufficient advertising, a guarantee of basic services for participating pitmasters, and that the event be family-friendly. Winning events received money that will deepen the prize payout to the top 20 percent of the field in all categories and in the Overall awards.

To learn more about the Smithfield Grant Program, the Committed Cooks Program, and Smithfield products, please visit www.SmokinWithSmithfield.com

About Smithfield A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia. From hand-trimmed ribs, loins and 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 .

Media Contact: Green Olive Media for Smithfield Cecelia Strong cstrong@greenolivemedia.com (917) 371-6247