PITTSBURGH, May 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes® initiative, a program focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure, joined forces with Giant Eagle to donate more than 40,000 pounds of protein to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. The donation, equivalent to more than 160,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across Pittsburgh where one in eight individuals are food insecure.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3205af0c-bf48-4239-b391-347096085a58

"Every week, we serve thousands of individuals and their families who struggle to find their next meal," said Lisa Scales, CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. "Today's donation from Smithfield Foods and Giant Eagle, two of our partners, allows us to provide high-quality, nutritional protein, a vital element of a healthy meal, to many of our neighbors across southeast Pennsylvania."

Smithfield and Giant Eagle representatives presented the donation to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank at the event this morning. Members from all three organizations discussed food insecurity in the local community and the significance of this donation in helping the more than 320,000 individuals who face hunger each day in the food bank's service area.

"At Giant Eagle we believe it's critically important to be a contributing member of the communities we serve," said Ed Steinmetz, Giant Eagle Vice President of Meat and Seafood Merchandising, and Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank board member. "As an organization founded and headquartered in western Pennsylvania, we are enormously appreciative of the ongoing commitment of our longstanding partners at the Food Bank, and are extremely thankful for the notable contribution from our friends at Smithfield Foods."

Smithfield's donation to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank was a part of the Helping Hungry Homes® 2017 nationwide donation tour. Throughout the annual tour, Smithfield will provide large-scale protein donations to more than 50 food banks across the country. This donation adds to the more than 65 million servings of protein donated since 2011.

"As a global food company, we recognize the importance of proper nutrition and value our responsibility to help alleviate hunger across the country," said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. "Together with our partner Giant Eagle, today's donation allows us to further support and provide enough protein for several thousand of our neighbors in need."

Following today's event, Helping Hungry Homes® will visit Denver, Colorado Friday, June 9. For more information about Helping Hungry Homes® and a list of upcoming donation events, 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.

About Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle, Inc., ranked among the top 40 on Forbes magazine's largest private corporations list, is one of the nation's largest food retailers and distributors with approximately $9.3 billion in annual sales. Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. has grown to be the number one supermarket retailer in the region with more than 410 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana. 

About Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank
Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, is a nonprofit organization founded in 1980 that distributes more than 31 million meals annually throughout a network of nearly 400 member agencies across 11 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania. For more information on hunger in our region or how to get involved, visit pittsburghfoodbank.org.

Media Contacts:

Dalton Agency for Smithfield
Kaytee Allaben
(904) 226-9890
kallaben@daltonagency.com

Food Bank
Tamara Kilgore
(412) 460-3663 ext. 410
tkilgore@pittsburghfoodbank.org

Giant Eagle
Dan Donovan
(412) 967-4551
media.relations@gianteagle.com