SMITHFIELD, Va., Jan. 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc., is pleased to announce a $25,000 donation to the North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts to support the 2019 National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon—an international competition to be held in July 2019, bringing together winning teams from across the U.S., Canada, and China to compete for recognition and scholarships. Envirothon is North America’s largest environmental education program, led by the National Conservation Foundation (NCF).  

Presented during the North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ Annual Meeting in Durham, North Carolina, this donation is in addition to Smithfield’s annual support of the international Envirothon program and its local competitions in communities across the country where Smithfield employees live and work.

“Smithfield Foods has been proud to support Envirothon for five years in a row, and each year we are astounded by the dedication seen from inspirational student participants in the program,” said Stewart Leeth, vice president of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. “We are thrilled to support the national competition as it comes to North Carolina, a state more than 10,000 of our employees call home.”   

More than 50,000 high school students compete in teams at regional and statewide competitions throughout the nation to demonstrate their environmental knowledge and problem-solving skills leading into the national event. The winning teams who progress to the 2019 NCF-Envirothon Competition will participate July 28 through August 2 on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“We are honored to host this year’s national event here in North Carolina,” said Jennifer Brooks, NCF-Envirothon program manager. “We thank Smithfield for their ongoing support of Envirothon and their generous contribution to our organization for this year’s special event. This donation will support our collective efforts to instill and reinforce environmental stewardship in young people to help preserve our natural resources for generations to come.”

In addition to financial support from the company, Smithfield employees will donate their time and expertise to the program. During the regional, statewide, and national competitions throughout the year, Smithfield employees will serve as volunteer advisors to lead training sessions, facilitate program curriculum, and coordinate activities.

Smithfield’s industry-leading sustainability strategy is focused on pillars that represent its key areas of sustainability focus: Animal Care, Environment, Food Safety and Quality, Helping Communities, and People. The company actively supports NCF and its efforts to advance environmental education, aligning with both Smithfield’s environmental initiatives and its commitment to support the vitality of local communities through education.

For more information about Smithfield’s sustainability program, recent achievements, and industry-leading environmental programs, visit Smithfield’s most recent Sustainability Report available HERE.

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. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About NCF-Envirothon

NCF-Envirothon is a hands-on, environmental problem-solving, leadership development program and competition for high school students held annually throughout North America and China. Participating teams complete training and testing in five natural resource categories: soils/land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife and current environmental issues. The program combines in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences to provide an E-STEM program for students in environmental education, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. NCF-Envirothon works in partnership with local conservation districts, and their state associations, forestry associations, educators, school officials, and cooperating natural resources agencies to organize and conduct competitions on the local, regional, state and/or provincial level. Winning teams from each state and province advance to a final competition for the opportunity to compete for recognition, scholarships and prizes as well as an understanding of natural resources issues. For more information on this exciting program visit www.envirothon.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Lisa Martin
lvmartin@smithfield.com 
(757) 365-1980

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1ba5d437-d7ce-4f1a-a2e4-19c9050d1a2a