MONMOUTH, Ill.– June 27, 2018 – Smithfield Foods, Inc. donated more than 30,000 pounds of protein to River Bend Foodbank 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 121,000 servings, will help families fight hunger in Illinois.
 
“Smithfield’s donation is key to inspiring community-wide efforts to create a hunger-free Iowa and Illinois,” said Mike Miller, President and CEO of River Bend Foodbank. “We are grateful for such a generous donation from Smithfield Foods which allows us to better serve the people in need within our community.” 
 
This significant donation from Smithfield will provide protein to the nearly 125,000 individuals who face hunger in River Bend Foodbank’s service area, which includes more than 20 counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.
 
This is the 33rd 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.
 
“Our donations, to River Bend Foodbank and other food banks across the country, help us reach those in need with high-quality protein,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. “We recognize this center-of-the-plate staple is hard to come by for many Americans living with food insecurity. We’re proud to do what we can and lend a hand to those in need.”
 
For more information about Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes® initiative and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.com.
 

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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 River Bend Foodbank
The Foodbank is the largest hunger relief organization in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities, having distributed over 13.4 million meals in 2017 to hungry people in eastern Iowa and western Illinois. Our mission is to lead the community-wide effort to end hunger in Iowa and Illinois. We do this through food distribution in partnership with our 300 agencies as well as our Mobile Pantries, Senior Pantries, and Backpack Program.  Visit our website at riverbendfoodbank.org to learn how you can help.
 
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