Smithfield Foods Donates $50,000 to Local School Mentorship Program


CRETE, Neb., Oct. 31, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. is pleased to announce a continued partnership with TeamMates, a mentoring program serving Crete Middle and High School students in Crete, Nebraska. Smithfield has supported TeamMates for seven consecutive years, and has once again donated $50,000 to the program.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7f04fbc0-5eae-43e8-b28b-bb401c8a5410

“Financial support and volunteer-mentors are the backbone of this program,” said Zoe White, program director of TeamMates. “We are blessed to see the great results of everyone working together for the students. With the addition of these six Smithfield mentors, we will have over 80 awesome mentees and mentors we have the privilege of serving. Thank you to Smithfield for giving back to our community and our kids.”

TeamMates Mentoring Program provides support for school-aged youth, with an overarching goal to lead them into high school graduation and encourage their pursuit of post-secondary education. To reach this goal, youth meet weekly with program mentors, who are community volunteers that have dedicated themselves to making a positive impact in young-adult lives by providing support and friendship.

“Smithfield takes great pride in its community involvement,” said Paul Doremus, general manager of Smithfield’s Crete, Nebraska facility. “We’re proud to continue supporting the TeamMates Mentoring Program through this donation and have employees work with students to achieve their goals.”  

Smithfield Foods’ support of this program aligns with its commitment to support the communities where its employees live and work. Smithfield’s Crete, Nebraska facility was established in 1975 and employs more than 2,200 employees locally.

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, 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.

Contact:

Keira Lombardo

Smithfield Foods, Inc.

(757) 365-3050

klombardo@smithfield.com

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