SMITHFIELD, Va. – May 7, 2018 – Smithfield Foods, Inc., and Food City joined forces to donate more than 39,000 pounds of protein to Feeding America Southwest Virginia and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee as part of the company’s 2018 Helping Hungry Homes® tour. Now in its 10th year, Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on helping Americans become more food secure. The donation, equivalent to more than 156,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee.
 
“The nutritional needs of thousands facing hunger in Southwest Virginia rests with the Food Bank and the support we receive from our generous partners such as Smithfield,” said Pamela Irvine, president and CEO of Feeding America Southwest Virginia.
 
This significant donation from Smithfield will help provide protein throughout each of the organization’s service areas. Feeding America Southwest Virginia serves nearly 117,000 individuals who face hunger in its 26-county, nine-city region, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee provides assistance to more than 98,000 individuals in need within its service area.
 
“We are grateful for Smithfield and their continued efforts on our combined mission to feed the hungry and engage communities in the fight to end hunger,” said Rhonda Chafin, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee. “Through this donation and our shared dedication, we will help provide food assistance and better stabilize lives across our eight-county region.”
 
“Like Smithfield, we are committed to the communities we serve and local hunger-relief efforts are a top priority for our company,” said Steven C. Smith, president and chief executive officer for Food City. “We are honored to partner with Smithfield for this significant donation, and are proud to assist in the efforts to make our community more food-secure.”
 
This is the 18th large-scale protein donation made by Smithfield to food banks across the country during the company’s 2018 Helping Hungry Homes® tour. Since the program’s inception in 2008, Smithfield has provided more than 100 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts, and community outreach programs nationwide.
 
“As a food company, we value the opportunity to provide wholesome meals through donations of nutrient-rich protein to our neighbors in need,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. “Through our nationwide hunger-relief program, we are able to join with like-minded community partners in the fight against hunger, and act as a resource for our neighbors in need across the country. It is our hope that with our collective efforts, we will raise awareness on this epidemic and encourage others to take action in their communities.”
 
For more information about Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes® initiative 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®, Farmer John®, Kretschmar®, John Morrell®, Cook's®, Gwaltney®, Carando®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Healthy Ones®, Morliny®, Krakus® 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 City
Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City's parent company) operates 132 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, Chattanooga and north Georgia.
 
About Feeding America Southwest Virginia
Feeding America Southwest Virginia was founded locally in 1981 and proudly commemorates 37 years of fighting hunger and changing lives through community partnerships. For the last three and a half 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 and distribute large quantities of food for Southwest Virginia's hungry. Approximately $26.5 million worth of food and grocery related products are channeled annually through a network of more than 330 partner feeding programs in our 26-county, 9-city region that provide food or meals to those in need. The local Food Bank is an affiliate member of Feeding America. Visit www.faswva.org for more information or like us on Facebook.
 
About Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee feeds the hungry by securing donations of food from national and local manufacturers, grocers and individuals and redistributing to qualified nonprofit charities and through Food Bank programs that feed the hungry in an eight county region of Northeast Tennessee composed of Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Washington and Unicoi Counties. The Food Bank is a 501 c3 non-profit organization located in Kingsport, Tennessee and is a member of Feeding America, the Nation’s largest Food Bank network.
 
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