SMITHFIELD, Va. (April 18, 2019) — Smithfield Foods, Inc. is pleased to announce its Waverly and Smithfield, Virginia operations’ participation in the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon’s 2019 Virginia Area VI Envirothon competition where hundreds of high school students competed to demonstrate their knowledge and environmental problem-solving skills.

Smithfield employees from the local communities donated their time and expertise to the program, serving as volunteer advisors to lead training sessions, facilitate program curriculum, and coordinate activities.

“We are continually impressed with the tremendous dedication and effort delivered by our students during the Envirothon competitions,” said Bonnie Mahl, coordinator for Virginia Envirothon. “We appreciate the tremendous support from Smithfield, a known leader in sustainability and a wonderful mentor and role model to our students.”

The 2019 NCF-Envirothon Virginia Area VI competition is part of an environmental education program and competition that attracts more than 50,000 high school students across the U.S., Canada, and China. Participating students completed hands-on and in-class activities to demonstrate knowledge of soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and current environmental issues. Winners at the regional level progress to the 2019 state-wide competition, which will take place May 19-20.

Smithfield and its employees will continue to offer financial and volunteer support at ongoing NCF-Envirothon regional and state-level competitions taking place near the company’s locations nationwide, leading into the program’s finale championship this July in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Smithfield has a long history of industry-leading environmental stewardship, and we’re honored to support and prepare this year’s Envirothon participants, who we see as forthcoming leaders in this space,” said Stewart Leeth, vice president of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. “We are impressed by the innovative ideas and concepts generated by competition participants, and we are eager to witness the positive impact this group can make for our environment.”

Smithfield actively supports NCF-Envirothon and its efforts to advance environmental education, aligning with both Smithfield’s environmental initiatives and commitment to support the vitality of local communities. Smithfield’s industry-leading sustainability program is focused on five pillars: animal care, environment, food safety and quality, helping communities, and people.

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, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
 
About NCF-Envirothon
NCF-Envirothon is a hands-on, environmental problem-solving, leadership development program that includes a competition involving high school students annually throughout North America. 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.
 
Contact:
Lisa Martin
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
(757) 365-1980
LVMartin@smithfield.com