DETROIT, June 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield’s Helping Hungry Homes program made the 10th stop on its 2016 nationwide hunger-relief tour this morning to donate more than 35,000 pounds of protein to Gleaners Community Food Bank. The donation will provide more than 140,000 servings and help the food bank continue to provide 79,000 meals each day to families and individuals suffering from hunger throughout southeastern Michigan.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/42563d89-350d-4164-b9b5-1e210ff8676c
Helping Hungry Homes, now in its eighth year, is Smithfield’s coast-to-coast program to help Americans become more food secure. This year, the program will help fight hunger through more than 30 large-scale protein donations to food banks across the United States totaling more than 3.5 million servings. To date, Helping Hungry Homes has provided more than 38 million servings of protein to food banks across America.
Representatives from Smithfield presented the donation to Gleaners Community Food Bank during an event on Friday, June 10 at Gleaners, located at 2131 Beaufait St, Detroit, MI. Speakers discussed the importance of donations like this in southeastern Michigan, where nearly 17 percent of people are food insecure and 300,000 children are on school-assisted lunch programs.
“Smithfield has a long history of supporting our hungry neighbors in southeast Michigan,” said Anne Schenk, vice president of communication for Gleaners. “This generous donation of high-quality protein will reach struggling families with the complete nutrition they need but otherwise would not be able to afford. I’m truly grateful to our friends at Smithfield for their continued partnership with Gleaners in solving hunger.”
“During the summer months, many children on school-assisted lunch programs don’t know from where their next meal will come,” said Dennis Pittman, Smithfield senior director of corporate communications and public affairs. “Smithfield is proud to provide Gleaners Community Food Bank with this donation through our Helping Hungry Homes program to help assist these children, as well as thousands of other families and individuals suffering from hunger, throughout southeastern Michigan.”
About Smithfield
A leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, establishing the town as the “Ham Capital of the World.” From hand-trimmed 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 $14 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®, Cook’s®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly’s®, Carando® and Healthy Ones®. 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.
About Gleaners Community Food Bank
Everyone wins when hunger is solved. For nearly 40 years, Gleaners Community Food Bank has been “feeding hungry people and nourishing our communities.” Headquartered in Detroit, Gleaners operates five distribution centers in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties and provides food to 535 partner soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and other agencies throughout southeastern Michigan. Gleaners collects 34.5 million pounds of food a year and distributes 79,000 meals each day including providing nourishing food and nutrition education to 84,700 children a year. Every dollar donated provides three meals and 93 cents of every donated dollar goes to food and food programs. Learn more at www.gcfb.org.