CHICAGO, Sept. 07, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield's Helping Hungry Homes tour made the 25th stop on its 2016 nationwide hunger-relief tour this morning to donate more than 30,000 pounds of protein to both the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Northern Illinois Food Bank. Smithfield partnered with Jewel-Osco to make the donation, which will provide more than 120,000 servings to families throughout Northern Illinois, where one in seven people suffer from hunger.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/90c70e09-4bb4-487b-ba0b-f315b300fee1

Representatives from Smithfield and Jewel-Osco presented the donation during an event on Wednesday, September 7th at Jewel-Osco located at 1340 Canal St., Chicago, Ill. Speakers discussed the importance of donations like this to food banks in Northern Illinois, where 62 percent of food bank clients must choose between paying for food or medical care.

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 3.5 million servings. To date, Helping Hungry Homes has provided more than 40 million servings of protein to food banks across America.

"We are grateful to Smithfield and Jewel-Osco for their ongoing partnership in the fight against hunger," said Sheila Creghin, vice president of operations for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. "At a time of continued high need across our community, donations of nutritious protein make a tremendous impact for the people we serve. The Food Depository thanks Smithfield and Jewel-Osco for their generosity and commitment to ensuring our neighbors have the food they need to live healthy lives."

"Northern Illinois Food Bank is thrilled to accept this generous donation from Smithfield and Jewel-Osco, which comes just in time, as we kicked off Hunger Action Month last week," said Julie Yurko, president & CEO of Northern Illinois Food Bank. "This donation will help provide 50,000 meals for neighbors across our 13-county service area. We are truly grateful to have the ongoing support of such wonderful corporate partners like Smithfield and Jewel."

"At Jewel-Osco, our commitment to help eradicate hunger by working within the community continues to be a priority," said Mike Withers, president of Jewel-Osco. "Our longstanding partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Northern Illinois Food Bank, and Smithfield Foods will ensure more people have food on the table rather than having to make tough choices."

"Smithfield's Helping Hungry Homes program is proud to partner with Jewel-Osco to provide these two food banks with this donation during Hunger Action Month," said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. "During this time, Smithfield encourages others to take action at their local food banks to help their neighbors in need. Through this donation, we are proud to provide wholesome protein to families and individuals throughout Northern Illinois."

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 Jewel-Osco
Jewel-Osco was founded in 1899 and is owned by New Albertsons, Inc. The grocery and drug retailer has 185 locations encompassing Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Iowa, and employs 31,000 associates. For more information log onto www.JewelOsco.com and follow on social media at Facebook.com/JewelOsco, Twitter.com/JewelOsco, Instagram.com/JewelOsco, Pinterest.com/JewelOscopr and YouTube.com/JewelOsco.

About the Greater Chicago Food Depository
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's food bank, is a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository, founded in 1979, makes a daily impact across Cook County with a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, mobile programs, children's programs, older adult programs and innovative responses that address the root causes of hunger. Last year, the Food Depository distributed 70 million pounds of shelf-stable food, fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of 160,000 meals every day. For more information, visit chicagosfoodbank.org or call 773-247-FOOD.

About Northern Illinois Food Bank
Northern Illinois Food Bank leads the Northern Illinois community in solving hunger by providing nutritious meals to those in need through innovative programs and partnerships. Since 1983, food manufacturers, local grocers, corporations, foundations, and individuals have come together to donate food and funds, and evaluate and repack food for distribution to 800 community food pantries and feeding programs serving more than 71,500 hungry neighbors each week across 13 counties. That commitment provided 57 million meals to those in need in FY15. Northern Illinois Food Bank has received a 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator for 13 consecutive years. Find out how you can Volunteer, Donate and Get Involved at www.SolveHungerToday.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Northern Illinois Food Bank is a member of Feeding America.

Media Contacts:

Hunter PR for Smithfield
Elisabeth Garcia
(212) 679-6600
egarcia@hunterpr.com

Jewel-Osco
Mary Frances Trucco
(630) 948-6068
maryfrances.trucco@jewelosco.com

Greater Chicago Food Depository
Paul Morello
(773) 843-5498
pmorello@gcfd.org

Northern Illinois Food Bank
Elizabeth Gartman
(630) 443-6910 ext. 142
egartman@northernilfoodbank.org