SMITHFIELD, Va., Jan. 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield® is pleased to announce the recipients of the second annual Smokin’ With Smithfield grant program. Established in 2017, the Smithfield grant program is the first of its kind. The program invests in the sport of competition barbecue by deepening the prize money in all of the major meat categories for cook teams, and providing event support to sanctioned barbecue competitions. After receiving almost 300 applications from barbecue competition events across the country, over 40 non-profit and community events were awarded a Smokin’ With Smithfield grant of up to $4,500 each, to be used during the 2018 barbecue competition season.
“We are proud and honored to continue our investment in the sport of competition barbecue,” said Emily Detwiler, director of fresh pork marketing for Smithfield Foods. “This year, we’re excited to nearly double the number of grants awarded versus 2017, deepening our commitment and support of the growing barbecue community.”
2018 Grant Program Winners
Jan. 20: Slab-O-Rama, Bullhead City, Ariz.
Jan. 27: San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Bar-B-Que Cook Off, San Antonio
March 3: Fire On Ice Barbecue World Championship, Onamia, Minn.
March 24: Hammond BBQ Challenge, Hammond, La.
April 6: Smoke In The Spring, Soage City, Kan.
April 6: 8th Annual Bull Moose, Somerville, Tenn.
April 8: Smoke On the Border, Gravatte, Ark.
April 13: Beeville’s Springfest, Beeville, Texas
April 20: Rock’n Ribs BBQ Festival, Springfield, Mo.
April 20: 13th Annual HANOR Smokin’ Red Dirt BBQ, Enid, Okla.
April 20: High On Hog Festival, Winchester, Tenn.
April 21: Suncoast BBQ & Bluegrass Bash, Venice, Fla.
May 4: Jiggy With the Piggy, Kannapolis, N.C.
May 4: Masters In May, Appleton, Wis.
May 12: The BBQ Jamboree Double, Fredricksburg, Va.
May 19: 7th Annual Valley Veterans BBQ Competition, Valley, Neb.
May 19: Chesapeake Jubilee KCBS BBQ Cook Off, Chesapeake, Va.
May 19: Grand Lake BBQ Festival, Langley, Okla.
May 25: Westmont Red, White & BBQ Contest & Festival, Westmont, Ill.
June 1: Smokin’ In Steele, Owatonna, Minn.
June 2: Big Blue BBQ Championship, Marysville, Kan.
June 16: 2018 Almost Heaven BBQ Bash/ WV State Championship, Weston, W. Va.
June 22: Silicon Valley Barbeque Championship, Santa Clara, Calif.
July 14: Gold Ribbin’ BBQ Fest of Greater Green Bay, Green Bay, Wis.
July 21: Smoke On the Mountain, Virginia State BBQ Championship, Galax, Va.
July 28: Up In Smoke BBQ Bash, Mason City, Iowa
July 28: Great Texas Mosquito Festival, Clute, Texas
July 28: Smoke In the Grove, Spring Grove, Pa.
Aug. 18: Smokefest, Marshall, Minn.
Aug. 23: 7th Annual Deaths Door BBQ, Washington Island, Wis.
Aug. 24: New Holland Summer Fest, New Holland, Pa.
Sept. 14: Big Brothers, Big Sisters Riverfest, Decatur, Ala.
Sept. 14: Tilley H-D Biker Blues BBQ Rally, Salisbury, N.C.
Sept. 15: Band & BBQ at the Point, Carrollton, Ky.
Sept. 16: Table Rock “Boats & Bones”, Kimberling City, Mo.
Sept. 23: Que by the Sea BBQ Competition & Festival, Seaside Heights, N.J.
Sept. 28: The Great Ruleville Roast, Ruleville, Miss.
Oct. 13: Cookin’ On The Kaw BBQ Contest, De Soto, Kan.
Oct. 13: MS Delta State Barbecue Championship/Cleveland Octoberfest, Cleveland, Miss.
Oct. 19: Harper County Bullseye BBQ, Harper, Kan.
Dec. 8: Briscoe Ranch BBQ Cook, Uvalde, Texas
To learn more about the Smokin’ With Smithfield program, as well as where to buy Smithfield products, please visit www.SmokinWithSmithfield.com.
About Smithfield
A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia. From hand-trimmed ribs, loins and bacon and slow-smoked holiday hams to marinated tenderloins, Smithfield brings artistry, authenticity and a commitment to heritage, flavor, and handcrafted excellence to everything it produces. With a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts, the company services retail, foodservice, and deli channels across the United States and 30 countries abroad. All of Smithfield's products meet the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about how Flavor Hails from Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com, www.Twitter.com/SmithfieldBrand, and www.Facebook.com/CookingWithSmithfield. Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
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.
Media Contact:
Hunter PR for Smithfield
Morgan Calef
212-679-6600
mcalef@hunterpr.com