WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., Aug. 04, 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 Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) and TOPS Friendly Markets to donate more than 40,000 pounds of protein to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. The donation, equivalent to more than 160,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across the food bank's six-county service area where one in seven individuals are food insecure.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a9a93ebc-0340-4edb-bca2-b369dc4cd92e
"The great support we receive from these three partners astounds us each year. Our partner agencies and mobile food pantry program will love to have this amazing product available for clients," said Natasha R. Thompson, president and CEO of the Food Bank of the Southern Tier. "And I am sure that our neighbors in need will enjoy having more filling meals thanks to Tops, Smithfield, and RPM."
Smithfield, RPM and Tops representatives presented the donation to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier at the event this morning. Members of all three organizations discussed food insecurity in the local community and the significance of this donation in helping the more than two million individuals who face hunger each day in the state of New York.
"Eradicating hunger is at the core of TOPS Friendly Markets philanthropic mission," said Andrew Brocato, director of community relations for TOPS. "We are happy to team up with a great business partner like Smithfield to provide food for those in the southern tier."
Richard Petty Motorsports has been an active Helping Hungry Homes® partner over the past several years. With RPM's support, Smithfield has garnered greater awareness of hunger across America through high-profile donation events.
"Our racing team is proud to stand with Smithfield and TOPS today, and we are honored to participate in this massive donation," said Richard Petty, co-owner of the No. 43 team. "Many race fans are loyal customers of Smithfield and call New York home, so it's great to be part of a partnership where we've all come together to support and give back to this state."
Smithfield's donation to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier was a part of the Helping Hungry Homes® 2017 nationwide donation tour. Throughout the annual tour, Smithfield will provide large-scale protein donations to nearly 60 food banks across the country. This donation adds to the more than 65 million servings of protein donated since 2011.
"Smithfield is proud to partner with RPM and TOPS once again to support the Food Bank of the Southern Tier through today's donation," said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. "This means helping families living in New York become more food secure and doing our part to help alleviate hunger and raise awareness of this issue not only here, but across the country."
Following today's event, Helping Hungry Homes® will visit Springfield, Massachusetts Tuesday, Aug. 8. For more information about Helping Hungry Homes® and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.com.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 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 Food Bank of the Southern Tier
The Food Bank of the Southern Tier distributes food to people struggling with hunger through a network of 165 food pantries, meal programs, shelters and other hunger relief agencies in Broome, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga and Tompkins Counties. The Food Bank also directly serves people in need through the BackPack Program and Mobile Food Pantry Program. Through advocacy, education and community partnerships, the Food Bank's vision is to create a future without hunger for everyone in the Southern Tier. The Food Bank of the Southern Tier is a member of Feeding America and a regional agency of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester, and was named the 2017 Food Bank of the Year.
About Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM)
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 one team in competition in the NASCAR premier series with driver Aric Almirola. Almirola will return to the iconic No. 43 Ford with partners Smithfield Foods, STP, United States Air Force and Fresh From Florida. The team is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C.
About TOPS FRIENDLY Markets
Tops Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 173 full-service supermarkets with five additional by franchisees under the Tops banner. Tops employs more than 15,000 associates and is a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.
Media Contacts:
Dalton Agency for Smithfield
Heather Houston
(904) 398-5222
hhouston@daltonagency.com
TOPS Friendly Markets
Kathy Romanowski
(716) 635-5577
kromanowski@topsmarkets.com
Food Bank of the Southern Tier
Krista Matia
(607) 796-6061
kmatia@feedingamerica.org
RPM
Heather Lumpp
(704) 677-7056
hlumpp@rpm43.com