KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc., in partnership with Price Chopper, donated more than 41,000 pounds of protein to Harvesters—The Community Food Network. Smithfield’s contribution was part of the company’s 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour and provided a generous donation to Harvesters in support of the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger food drive.

Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. This donation, equivalent to more than 166,000 servings of protein, will help fight summer hunger throughout northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri.

“One in six children in Harvesters’ service area is at risk of hunger,” said Valerie Nicholson-Watson, President and CEO of Harvesters. “This is a critical time of year for families as they struggle to provide additional meals and make ends meet while children are not receiving breakfast and lunch at school. Families turn to our pantries for help, and this donation helps ensure protein will be available to them.”

This is the 24th large-scale protein donation made by Smithfield to food banks across the country during its 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour. Since the program’s inception in 2008, Smithfield has provided more than 130 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts, and community outreach programs nationwide.

“Smithfield is proud to make donations of protein to Harvesters throughout the year to support a community so many of our employees call home,” said Jonathan Toms, associate manager of charitable initiatives for Smithfield Foods. “We understand the increased need experienced this time of year and are honored to help kick-off the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive to ensure children in Kansas City have wholesome meals this summer.”

The public is also welcome to contribute to the Stamp Out Hunger food drive by donating nonperishable food items to Harvesters food barrels at any Price Chopper store or donating online at www.harvesters.org through Monday, May 13, 2019. 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 Price Chopper
Price Chopper’s 52 Kansas City stores are locally owned by the Ball, Cosentino, McKeever, and Queen families, all of whom live in Kansas City and oversee store operations on a daily basis. For 40 years, the owners and employees of Price Chopper have been committed to providing the highest quality products and top-of-the-line customer service to the thousands of customers they serve every day. For more information, please visit www.mypricechopper.com.

About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters is a regional food bank and was Feeding America’s 2011 Food Bank of the Year. Serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 760 nonprofit agencies including emergency food pantries, community kitchens, shelters and others. Agencies in Harvesters’ network provide food assistance to as many as 141,500 different people each month. Harvesters, which was founded in 1979, is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2ac03109-6139-4a55-8afc-99ef14cfb6b3