SMITHFIELD, Va., Oct. 31, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. is pleased to announce a $210,000 donation to BoysGrow, a Missouri-based nonprofit program focused on mentoring Kansas City’s urban youth through agricultural entrepreneurship. The donation supports the construction of a new 3,400 square foot farm kitchen to support food production, culinary arts, vocational training, events, and agritourism.

The project officially broke ground in a ceremony yesterday at the BoysGrow campus in Kansas City. Expected competition date for the culinary center is Summer 2019. Once finalized, the center will provide additional space for the existing culinary program and the ability to offer resources to more students in coming years.

“Our goal is to empower youth through hands-on learning experiences, giving them access to healthy food, vocational training, establishing work ethic, providing positive mentorship, and allowing them to earn a paycheck,” said John Gordon, executive director of BoysGrow. “We are grateful to Smithfield Foods for their donation and commitment to community stewardship to make the dream of this new facility come to life.”

BoysGrow provides a two-year program that accepts 14-15 boys per year. Since 2010, nearly 200 teenagers have successfully completed the program. The new culinary center will add a certified kitchen, post-harvest handling room, office space, and an event space to hold up to 60 people. This will enable BoysGrow to grow more local, fresh food for program youth, their families, and the greater community.

“This farm kitchen will be a tremendous asset to this community. We’re proud to support the organization’s mission to provide an abundance of opportunities for our youth and engage the local food community,” said Mark Garrett, chief diversity and engagement officer for Smithfield Foods and Smithfield Foundation board member. “Smithfield Foods has a strong commitment to supporting the communities we serve, and we are thrilled to provide this gift to make this dream a reality.”

With more than 2,750 employees in the state of Missouri, Smithfield’s support of BoysGrow aligns with its commitment to contribute to the vitality of the communities where its employees live and work. For more information about Smithfield’s commitment to its local communities, please visit smithfieldfoods.com/helpingcommunities.

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, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About BoysGrow

Founded in 2010, BoysGrow is a Kansas City based nonprofit that uses agriculture to teach urban youth about entrepreneurism. The youth, 14-17 years old, commit to the two-year program and have a hand in all aspects of the nonprofit and the businesses. They are paid for the efforts and assist with our 10-acre production farm, create value-added products and do all things related to the business from public speaking to sales and web design.

Our young men establish healthy work-ethic at a young age and also learn what it means to be a leader, how to network with professionals and the patience of growing food. We are excited for the growth of BoysGrow and the opportunities ahead. One aspect of the program that has taken off is our Mentorship Program. During their two years in the program the young men create true friendships with the staff and mentors in the program. We think relationships are built through Time and Experiences and at this time in their life young people can always use more positive mentors.

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ec3c5c0e-8b51-41de-95d9-5d9d5a049001