RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced a $30,000 donation for scholarship awards at the 2019 National Conservation Foundation (NCF) Envirothon Competition, where high school students internationally competed in teams to demonstrate their environmental knowledge and problem-solving skills. The scholarships were presented to the top three teams during the competition’s awards ceremony on Friday, August 2 to include Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, Virginia in first place, High Rock Home School in Davidson County, North Carolina in second place, and Carmichaels Area High School in Pennsylvania in third place.

The 2019 NCF-Envirothon is North America’s largest environmental education program and international competition that impacts more than 50,000 high school students across the U.S., Canada, and China. The national championship event, held in Raleigh, North Carolina this year, saw the final 53 teams of students compete to demonstrate their knowledge of soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and current environmental issues.

“On behalf of The National Conservation Foundation, we commend every student who participated in this year’s competition to advance sustainability efforts while working collaboratively to develop their knowledge of ecology and natural resource management,” said Steve Robinson, chair of the NCF Board of Trustees. “We’re grateful for Smithfield’s support during the past five years and for their continuous dedication toward environmental sustainability, and are delighted by their efforts to recognize and honor these students.”

As the largest corporate sponsor of NCF-Envirothon, Smithfield donated a combined $120,000 to support regional, statewide, and international competitions throughout the year. In addition to financial support from the company, Smithfield employees donated their time and expertise to the program, serving as volunteer advisors to lead training sessions, facilitate program curriculum, and coordinate activities.

“With more than 10,000 employees in North Carolina, Smithfield is honored to once again support the NCF-Envirothon, especially in an area we call home,” said Stewart Leeth, vice president of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. “We are consistently impressed by the students involved in this program, and we are excited to support this future generation of leaders as they aspire to create a more sustainable future for us all.”

Smithfield’s industry-leading sustainability program is focused on five pillars: 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, industry-leading environmental programs, and its commitment to helping communities, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com/sustainability.

To learn more about the NCF-Envirothon, visit www.envirothon.org.

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
NCF-Envirothon is a hands-on, environmental problem-solving, leadership development program that includes a competition involving high school students annually throughout the U.S., Canada 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 experience 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 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.  

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4a60ed8b-55d6-45e0-94b3-a90bbfe1e028