Eckrich, Operation Homefront and Albertsons Partner to Honor Military Family

LISLE, Ill., Sept. 23, 2016 -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, teamed up with Albertsons and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor an Alamosa, Colo. military family on Thursday.

Eckrich and Albertsons Surprised the Patterson Family with Free Groceries for One Year

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/777fbeff-90b3-452d-8f79-4ae6f76a1ddc

Eckrich hosted a special presentation for the Patterson family at an Albertsons store in Aurora, Colo., honoring them with one year of free groceries.

Justin Patterson served as a staff sergeant in the US Army. He was injured when his Humvee was hit by an IED in Iraq. He was the only survivor and received three Purple Hearts. His wife, Elisa, is his full-time caregiver and 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. The couple has a young son.

“All I can say is ‘thank you’ to Eckrich,” said Justin Patterson. “We are truly blessed to receive this support. It really eases a burden for us.”

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 fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization to support military families since 2012.

“Eckrich is proud to continue its support of military families across the country,” said Jennifer Zmrhal, Senior Director, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. “We appreciate Albertsons’ partnership and we are honored to present the Patterson family with one 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
A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.  With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.

Contact:
Faye Shroff
Breaking Limits for Eckrich
Cell: (704) 591-4353
E-Mail: [email protected]