BRISTOL, Tenn., Aug. 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In celebration of the upcoming race weekend in Bristol, Smithfield and Food City partnered with Richard Petty Motorsports to donate 15,000 pounds of protein to both the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee and Feeding America Southwest Virginia, for a combined total donation of 30,000 pounds to help serve Bristol and the surrounding region. This significant donation is part of Smithfield's Helping Hungry Homes tour, the company's coast-to-coast effort to help families and individuals become more food secure.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f4b64cb5-1f26-4ff1-b23e-e770095f85b9
This year, as part of an effort to raise awareness about the necessity of providing assistance to individuals and families in need, the program is helping fight hunger through more than 35 large-scale protein donations to food banks across the United States totaling more than 3.5 million servings. To date, Helping Hungry Homes has provided more than 40 million servings of protein to food banks across America.
Racing legend Richard Petty, who has partnered with the Smithfield Helping Hungry Homes program to donate thousands of pounds of protein over recent years, was present to discuss the importance of these donations from Smithfield, and to raise awareness about the necessity of providing assistance to our neighbors in need.
Representatives from Smithfield and Food City, alongside Petty, presented the donation to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee and Feeding America Southwest Virginia on Thursday, August 18th during the Food City Race Night in downtown Bristol Tenn./Va.
"Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee is grateful for the continued support of Smithfield and Food City," states Rhonda Chafin, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee. "Hunger relief partnerships like this allow Second Harvest to feed the hungry in our region."
"We're so excited for this wonderful donation of Smithfield products," said Pamela Irvine, president and CEO of Feeding America Southwest Virginia. "We're also very grateful to Food City and Richard Petty Motorsports for allowing us to accept it during Food City Race Night, helping to further raise awareness about hunger in our communities."
"The No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team is honored to participate in this donation with our sponsor, Smithfield," said No. 43 team owner Richard Petty. "So many race fans are loyal customers of Smithfield and shop at Food City, so it's great to see these two companies giving back to the communities that support them, and our race team, throughout the year."
"Food City has a long history of community involvement and support of our local food banks, and it's our honor to participate in these substantial protein donations alongside Smithfield and our great friend Richard Petty," said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and CEO.
"Smithfield has made more than 275 donations across the country through the company's Helping Hungry Homes program, and we're proud to provide this donation of much-needed protein to the Bristol area," said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. "We're grateful to Food City for partnering with us to make this substantial donation to honor our customers and race team fans while helping to alleviate hunger in the Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia region."
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 Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee has led the effort to end hunger in Northeast Tennessee since 1986 and is the only food bank serving the eight county region incorporating Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington Counties. The food bank's mission is to feed the hungry in Northeast Tennessee by securing and distributing food and engaging our community in the fight to end hunger through regional partnerships, programs and education. In addition to serving partner agencies, Second Harvest administers programs that directly benefit individuals and families at risk for hunger and malnutrition including The Food for Kids Backpack Program, Kids Café, Mobile Food Bank, Mobile Food Pantry, School Pantries program and Summer Food Service Program
The need for food assistance in Northeast Tennessee continues to grow. Approximately 10.8 million pounds of food and grocery products were distributed by the Food Bank during fiscal year 2016 through food bank agencies and programs serving over 40,000 individuals per month. The Food Bank encourages the community to get involved in helping feed the hungry in Northeast Tennessee. Ways to help include making a monetary donation, becoming a Food Bank agency, volunteering or holding a food drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee. Visit the Food Bank's website www.netfoodbank.org for more information or call (423)279-0430.
About Feeding America Southwest Virginia
Feeding America Southwest Virginia was founded in 1981 and proudly commemorates 34 years of fighting hunger and changing lives through community partnerships. The Food Bank is an affiliate member of Feeding America. For the last three decades the Food Bank's ultimate mission has remained the same: eliminate hunger in the region. The primary function of the Food Bank is to secure large quantities of food for the hungry. Approximately $31 million worth of food and grocery related products are channeled through a network of more than 357 partner feeding programs in our 26-county, 9 city region that provide food or meals to those in need. Visit www.faswva.org for more information or like us on Facebook.
About Food City
Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City's parent company) operates 135 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, Chattanooga and north Georgia.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
A performance and marketing driven company, Richard Petty Motorsports, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty and successful business entrepreneur Andrew Murstein, is one of the most recognized brands in all of motorsports. With a history of over 200 wins and business partnerships with national and global leaders, today the race operation fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Aric Almirola and Brian Scott. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and the "Fresh From Florida" campaign. Scott will make his debut with the team and drive the Petty Family No. 44 Ford. Albertsons Companies, Shore Lodge, Twisted Tea and GoBowling.com will join Scott as he competes for Rookie of the Year in his first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series. Richard Petty Motorsports will also field the No. 43 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
Media Contacts:
Hunter PR for Smithfield
Elisabeth Garcia
(212) 679-6600
egarcia@hunterpr.com
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee
Kathy Smith
(423) 279-0430 ext. 203
communityrelations@netfoodbank.org
Food City
Tammy Baumgardner
(276) 623-5100 ext. 5734
baumgardnert@foodcity.com
Feeding America Southwest Virginia
Amanda Allen
(540) 342-3011 ext. 7015
aallen@faswva.org
Richard Petty Motorsports
Heather Lumpp
(847) 302-5509
hlumpp@rpm43.com