Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes® Joins Forces With SHOP ‘n SAVE to Donate More Than 40,000 Pounds of Protein to Westmoreland County Food Bank, Inc.

DELMONT, Pa., May 23, 2017 -- Today, Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes^® initiative, a program focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure, joined forces with SHOP ‘n SAVE to donate more than 40,000 pounds of protein to Westmoreland County Food Bank. The donation, equivalent to more than 160,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across the food bank’s service area where one in nine individuals are food insecure.

Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods, stands with representatives from the Westmoreland County Food Bank and SHOP ‘n SAVE at this morning’s 40,000-pound donation event. Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s initiative focused on alleviating hunger across the country.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9252c88a-929a-4456-9bf2-565d8c0a1790

"Protein is a critical resource for food banks and an important, often limited, nutrient for those we serve each day," said Kris Douglas, CEO of the Westmoreland County Food Bank. "We’re grateful to Smithfield and SHOP ‘n SAVE for today’s large-scale donation, which will help provide well-balanced meals to thousands of our neighbors over the coming weeks.”

Smithfield and SHOP ‘n SAVE representatives presented the donation to Westmoreland County Food Bank at the event this morning. Members from all three organizations discussed food insecurity in the local community and the significance of this donation in helping the more than 40,000 individuals who face hunger each day in Westmoreland county.

“SHOP ‘n SAVE is honored to work with Smithfield today and provide support to our hungry neighbors across Westmoreland county,” said Don Fabian, director of merchandising for SHOP ‘n SAVE. “Today, we’re helping provide thousands of servings of protein to those who need it the most through the Westmoreland County Food Bank, an organization that works each day to alleviate hunger and improve food in our local community.”

Smithfield’s donation to Westmoreland County Food Bank was a part of the Helping Hungry Homes^® 2017 nationwide donation tour. Throughout the annual tour, Smithfield will provide large-scale protein donations to more than 50 food banks across the country. This donation adds to the more than 65 million servings of protein donated since 2011.

“Today, we are honored to support the Westmoreland County Food Bank and its many partner agencies in our shared fight against hunger,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. "Along with SHOP ‘n SAVE, today’s donation will positively impact many individuals across the food bank’s service area, providing countless meals to those in need.”

Following today’s event, Helping Hungry Homes^® will visit Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Thursday, May 25. For more information about Helping Hungry Homes^® and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.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 SHOP ‘n SAVE
There are more than 100 independently owned and operated SHOP ‘n SAVE stores in Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. SHOP ‘n SAVE offers customers everyday low prices on name brand and private label products. For more information, visit www.shopnsavefood.com.

About Westmoreland County Food Bank
The Westmoreland County Food Bank serves over 31,000 area residents each year including 9,300 children and 3,410 seniors. WCFB currently has 60 member agencies in their network of emergency feeding sites.  Of those, 43 are food pantries in which low income consumers are able to access emergency food assistance throughout the month. Last year (2016), the Food Bank distributed nearly 7.3 million pounds of food.

50% of WCFB’s food comes from the federal and state governments and the remaining 50% from local donations, food drives, and Feeding America.  Administrative and fundraising costs account for 5% of the Food Bank’s operating budget. 

Media Contacts:

Dalton Agency for Smithfield
Kaytee Allaben
(904) 226-9890
[email protected]

Westmoreland County Food Bank
Sara Swaney
(724) 468-8660 ext. 27
[email protected] 

Gatesman Agency for SHOP ‘n SAVE 
Paige Blawas
(412) 339-5189
[email protected]