LISLE, Ill., March 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with WinCo Foods and Operation Homefront to honor a local military family on Friday. Eckrich surprised the Wayment family at WinCo Foods in Layton, Utah to honor and thank the family for their service.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9854df18-a9dd-4a72-8285-1ede45c55e62
When they arrived to the WinCo store, Eckrich surprised them with a grocery shopping spree. Then, at checkout, Eckrich provided the Wayment family with another surprise: free groceries for a year to WinCo Foods, a gift valued at more than $10,000.
Braden Wayment, a sergeant in the United States Army Reserves, served for 10 years. He was deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning several medals and awards. He and his wife, Tiffany, have been married for six years and have two children. Tiffany is a member of Operation Homefront's Hearts of Valor® program, a network of more than 3,000 caregivers of wounded service members which provides annual retreats, support groups, and online communities.
"We are so humbled by this gift," said Braden Wayment. "It has been a difficult transition back to civilian life, and this gift of groceries will make things easier on our family. We would like to thank Eckrich, WinCo Foods, and Operation Homefront for their support."
The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank, and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, in its sixth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012. Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.
“Eckrich is proud to continue to support military families across the country,” said Jennifer Zmrhal, Smithfield Foods senior director of marketing. “We appreciate the partnership from WinCo Foods and we are honored to present the Wayment family with a year of free groceries.”
For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.
Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Eckrich
Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.
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®, John Morrell®, Cook's®, Kretschmar®, Gwaltney®, Curly's®, Margherita®, Carando®, Healthy Ones®, Krakus®, Morliny®, 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.
About Operation Homefront
Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America’s military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.org.