RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Feed More, a hunger-relief organization serving 34 cities and counties in Central Virginia, unveiled a new refrigerated tractor-trailer to support the organization’s efforts to improve product distribution to the eight localities in the southern region of their service area, where almost 25,000 individuals are food insecure. The tractor-trailer was funded through a $180,000 gift from the Smithfield Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Smithfield Foods.
“This gift from Smithfield will significantly impact our ability to better address the needs of the rural counties in our service area, including those served by Farmville Area Community Emergency Services, one of our wonderful partner agencies,” said Douglas Pick, president and chief executive officer of Feed More. “Food insecurity rates remain too high, especially in rural counties in our southern region, and this tractor-trailer will enable us to improve our distribution of perishable and non-perishable food products to this important area.”
The new tractor-trailer will deliver between 20,000 to 30,000 pounds of food each day from Feed More’s Richmond campus to food pantries and other members of their Agency Network and remote distribution centers. This will be focused on rural localities across Feed More’s service area, including Brunswick, Charlotte, Emporia, Greenville, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Sussex counties.
“At Smithfield, we believe in supporting the communities we call home, and value our opportunity as a food company to address the challenges of food insecurity,” said Kenneth M. Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods. “We’re honored to grow our partnership with Feed More through this gift to improve their distribution in this critical area of need.”
Since 2011, Smithfield has donated more than 300,000 pounds of protein through its partnership with Feed More. The Smithfield Foundation grant supports Feed More’s Gather. Give. Grow campaign to support large-scale investments in facility improvements, refrigeration, and vehicles.
For more information about Smithfield’s charitable efforts, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com/key-outreach-efforts/smithfield-foundation.
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 and LinkedIn.
About Feed More
Feed More collects, prepares and distributes more than 20 million meals annually to neighbors in need throughout Central Virginia. With a service area that stretches across 34 cities and counties, Feed More’s comprehensive programs and network of nearly 300 agencies helps ensure our communities have access to healthy meals year round. Feed More is a proud member of Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America. For additional information, please visit FeedMore.org, find us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
Media Contacts:
| Smithfield Foods, Inc. Lisa Martin (757) 365-1980 lvmartin@smithfield.com | FeedMore Jessica Howe Hickey (804) 237-8604 jhowe@FeedMore.org |
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f1778231-7b7c-43a1-96dd-e4809b076e5e