SMITHFIELD, Va., Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the Smithfield® Commonwealth Clash rivalry games, the brand stopped by Feeding Southwest Virginia and Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to donate a combined total of 80,000 pounds of protein to aid in local hunger relief. This donation will provide more than 320,000 servings of much-needed protein to families throughout the surrounding areas.
Representatives from Smithfield presented the donations during events that took place earlier today at each respective food bank. Speakers discussed the importance of donations for Virginia communities, where one in eleven people experience hunger.
As a Virginia-based brand and longtime supporter of the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech athletic departments, Smithfield is a presenting sponsor of the Commonwealth Clash rivalry games between the schools for all sports for the 2021-2025 seasons. As part of the sponsorship, the brand is collaborating with both schools on game day activations, fan opportunities and community outreach events. These joint donations will unite the opposing sides for the benefit of their hometowns by providing valuable center-of-the-plate nourishment to local children, seniors and families while helping the food banks maintain their current high volume of food distribution.
This significant donation is part of Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes initiative, the company's coast-to-coast effort to help families and individuals become more food secure. Since 2008, the company has donated hundreds of millions of protein servings to food banks, community outreach programs and disaster-relief efforts in all 50 states. To learn more, visit https://sustainability.smithfieldfoods.com/helping-communities.
"Smithfield Foods is proud to bring these essential provisions to two incredible food banks in our home state of Virginia in appreciation for their tireless work this past year," said Jonathan Toms, community development manager for Smithfield Foods. "It is crucial, now more than ever, to help our neighbors experiencing hunger following a year-and-a-half of hardships, and we're honored to have the opportunity to bring 'rivalry' communities together as one to help fight food insecurity during the Commonwealth Clash week."
"Feeding Southwest Virginia is thrilled to accept this wonderful donation from Smithfield as we continue our ongoing battle against hunger in our community, especially during this critical time," said Pamela Irvine, President and CEO for Feeding Southwest Virginia. "This donation will help provide thousands of meals for neighbors across our 26-county service area. We are truly grateful to the team at Smithfield for their continued support of our mission."
"Protein-rich foods are essential in our fight against nutrition insecurity, so we couldn't be more thrilled for this wonderful donation of Smithfield products," said Michael McKee, CEO for Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. "Hunger relief partnerships like this allow us to amplify our impact across central and western Virginia."
About Smithfield
Smithfield isn't only a leading provider of high-quality pork products. We're a leading provider of the most important part of any meal: high-quality meat. The rest of the meal is just a side dish. And we take our meat-duties seriously. We make meat for meat lovers. The kind that makes your stomach growl and your mouth water. And we've been doing it since 1936. All of our products have always come directly from farms right here in the USA meeting the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Our 63,000 team members are dedicated to producing "Good food. Responsibly.®" and have made us one of the world's leading vertically integrated protein companies. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including our industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across our entire U.S. value chain by 2030. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to our communities. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield®, Eckrich® and Nathan's Famous®, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
About Feeding Southwest Virginia
Feeding Southwest Virginia was founded in 1981 and proudly celebrates 40 years of fighting hunger and changing lives through community partnerships. The Food Bank is an affiliate member of Feeding America. For the last three and a half decades, the Food Bank's ultimate mission has remained the same: eliminate hunger in the region and evolving to focus on healthy nutritious foods. The primary function of the Food Bank is to secure and distribute large quantities of food for the hungry. Approximately $33 million worth of food and grocery related products are channeled annually through a network of more than 380 partner feeding Programs in our 26-county, 9-city region that provide food or meals to those in need. Visit www.FeedingSWVA.org.
About Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Verona, Virginia, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is proud to mark 40 years of providing nourishing food to our neighbors in need. As the largest organization alleviating hunger in western and central Virginia, the Food Bank serves an average of nearly 119,000 individuals each month across 25 counties and eight cities through distribution centers in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester, and Verona. This 40th year is like no other: Together with our network of 207 community partners and 187 program sites, we're serving record numbers of Virginians during a prolonged pandemic and its associated economic impacts. We pledge to continue innovating and adapting to secure, store, and distribute more food to more individuals, families, children, and seniors in need. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, a national food bank association that supports 200 food banks across the United States providing 6 billion meals to 42 million people through 60,000 partner pantries. For more information, visit www.brafb.org.
SOURCE Smithfield Foods, Inc.
