DES MOINES, Iowa, Aug. 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nathan's Famous®, the Official Hot Dog of Major League Baseball (MLB), donated free hot dogs for a year and a $1,000 Hy-Vee supermarket gift card to the Pinky Swear Foundation this past weekend.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/59eeebf1-2f74-47a3-82a8-2bdf8891bcb4

The Pinky Swear Foundation is a non-profit organization that assists in easing the financial and emotional impacts experienced by children with cancer and their families by providing basic needs support.

The donation was made during a presentation prior to the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Qualifier for the 2018 Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest held annually in Coney Island, New York.

Nathan's Famous hosted the hot dog donation and qualifying contest as part of the Iowa State Fair, which is the single largest event in the state of Iowa, and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country.

"The Pinky Swear Foundation has positively impacted the lives of so many children and their families as they endure the challenges of childhood cancer," said Scott Harvey, executive vice president of Nathan's Famous. "Nathan's Famous is grateful for the work that Pinky Swear does to support families in need."

Nathan's Famous is not only the Official Hot Dog of MLB, but also of the Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Official Beef Frank of the Cincinnati Reds.

Smithfield Foods is the licensee of Nathan's Famous pre-packaged hot dogs, selling a wide variety of beef franks at supermarkets across the country including natural casing, skinless, bun-length, 50 percent reduced fat, angus, and more.

About Nathan's Famous
Nathan's is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and twelve foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. Last year, over 550 million Nathan's Famous hot dogs were sold. Nathan's was ranked #22 on the Forbes 2014 list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. For additional information about Nathan's please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.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 Pinky Swear Foundation
Founded in 2003, Pinky Swear Foundation is a 501c(3) not-for-profit passionately committed to helping children with cancer and their families by responding to the immediate crisis facing families with a childhood cancer diagnosis. Pinky Swear supports families' quality-of-life with financial assistance for basic needs and through experiences that create emotional support, so they can focus on what's most important: their child battling cancer. Inspired by a pinky swear promise made between a 9-year-old boy and his dad, the foundation engages kids to help grow the community of keepers of the pinky swear. Pinky Swear Foundation fundraising activities include annual kids triathlon events, the Hy-Vee® Pinky Swear 5K & Fun Run events in five communities nationwide, National Pinky Swear Day on December 11, and other community engagement events around the nation. Visit pinkyswear.org more information.

Contact:
Terrence A. Merkerson
Breaking Limits for Nathan's Famous
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Direct: 704-787-0075     
Mobile: 504-322-5724
Email: tmerkerson@breakinglimits.net