SMITHFIELD, Va., Nov. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Smithfield Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Smithfield Foods, Inc., is pleased to announce its successful partnership in the first year of a three-year commitment to Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry Virginia campaign. During the 2017-2018 school year, No Kid Hungry Virginia worked to expand the school breakfast, afterschool meals, and summer meals programs, improving access to nutritious food for children across Virginia.

"The support from Smithfield Foods has helped the No Kid Hungry Virginia campaign to ensure more children throughout Virginia have access to the nutritious food they need to learn and achieve," said Claire Mansfield, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia. “We are proud of what we have accomplished over the past year together and look forward to continued progress towards ending childhood hunger in the Commonwealth, thanks to the support of great partners such as Smithfield Foods.”

During the 2017-2018 school year, participation in the school breakfast program increased among kids in need by 61 percent, resulting in 16,080 more students now eating a nutritious breakfast before they start their day. In addition, more than 2.9 million afterschool meals were served during the first half of the school year, an increase of nearly 300,000 meals over the same period the previous year. The summer meal program, which provides working families with access to nutritious food for their children during summer break, was able to serve 136,660 more summer meals in 2017 than the previous year.

This collaborative partnership, consisting of a yearly $150,000 donation from Smithfield, provides funding for grants in schools and community organizations to help overcome barriers to child hunger, such as limited refrigeration, cafeteria equipment, carts and coolers, and other resources necessary for food delivery.

“Hunger and food insecurity are two of the biggest social problems facing our country today,” said Keira Lombardo, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods and president of the Smithfield Foundation. “As a global leader in the food industry, we feel strongly about our responsibility to help feed all families, particularly those right here in our home state. We are thrilled with the first year of our partnership with No Kid Hungry Virginia as we work together to improve access to nutritious food for all children across the commonwealth.”

For more information about Smithfield’s charitable efforts, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com/key-outreach-efforts/smithfield-foundation.

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 No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 6 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization working to end hunger and poverty. Learn more at NoKidHungry.org.

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