SMITHFIELD, Va., March 11, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. has donated more than 326,000 pounds of protein to four food banks throughout North and South Carolina as part of the company’s 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour. Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. The donations, equivalent to more than 1.3 million servings, will help families fight hunger across the Carolinas through the Lowcountry Food Bank and Harvest Hope Food Bank in South Carolina, and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina and the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina in North Carolina.

“Our efforts to supply nutritious food to those in need throughout North and South Carolina is made possible by devoted partners like Smithfield Foods, who truly understand and support our mission,” said Mike Darrow, executive director of Feeding the Carolinas, a strategic alliance of Feeding America food banks in North and South Carolina. “This gracious contribution from Smithfield adds to the long-standing efforts of our organizations to alleviate hunger, and this protein donation will make an incredible impact on those that we collectively serve.”

Together, these donations mark the fifth large-scale protein contribution from Smithfield to food banks across the country during its 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® tour. Since the program’s inception in 2008, Smithfield has provided more than 120 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts, and community outreach programs nationwide.

“At Smithfield, we take pride in our role as a food company to feed people, while strengthening communities across the country through our Helping Hungry Homes® initiative, in line with our social purpose,” said Jonathan Toms, associate manager of charitable initiatives for Smithfield Foods. “As a major employer in the region, the Carolinas continue to be close to the heart of our cause. We are honored to help alleviate hunger for many of our neighbors in need with these donations of much-needed protein by providing this donation to our food bank partners throughout North and South Carolina.”

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

About Feeding the Carolinas
Feeding the Carolinas is a strategic alliance of the food banks in North and South Carolina who also belong to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief charity. Feeding the Carolinas is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable nonprofit organization.  Feeding the Carolinas is North and South Carolina’s only statewide hunger relief organization that continuously services all 146 counties. Our community-supported member food banks are private, non-governmental organizations, located in every corner of both states and have consistently high ratings from Charity Navigator.  www.feedingthecarolinas.org

Our member services include:

• Multi-state networking and communication
• Raising food and funds for our food banks
• Public policy participation and analysis
• Public awareness about hunger issues

About Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina
As part of Feeding America, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina serves 19 counties in North and South Carolina. In FY2017-2018, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina distributed over 54 million pounds of food and household items to over 700 hunger feeding agencies including emergency pantries, soup kitchens, senior programs, shelters and low-income daycares.
SHFBM on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SHmetrolina/
SHFBM on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shmetrolina
SHFBM on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shmetrolina/

About Harvest Hope Food Bank
Harvest Hope Food Bank is a non-profit organization serving people in need across 20 counties in South Carolina.  In 2018, Harvest Hope distributed more than 27 million pounds of food and provided over 22 million meals.  Harvest Hope operates out of locations in Columbia, Florence, and Greenville, SC. For more information please visit harvesthope.org.

About The Lowcountry Food Bank
The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 31.2 million pounds of food in 2018. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to nearly 300 partner agencies including soup kitchens, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank is a member of the national Feeding America network. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information go to http://www.lowcountryfoodbank.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina
The Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina is a nonprofit organization that has provided food for people at risk of hunger in 34 counties in central and eastern North Carolina for more than 35 years. The Food Bank serves a network of more than 800 partner agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, and programs for children and adults through warehouses in Durham, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, the Sandhills (Southern Pines), and Wilmington. In fiscal year 2017-2018, the Food Bank distributed nearly 70 million pounds of food (over half of which was perishable) and non-food essentials through these agencies. Sadly, hunger remains a serious problem in central and eastern North Carolina. In these counties, more than 600,000 people struggle to access nutritious and adequate amounts of food necessary for an active and healthy life. foodbankcenc.org.

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