Eckrich®, Operation Homefront, and Martin's Super Markets Partnered to Honor Local Military Family

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Aug. 28, 2017 -- Eckrich^®, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with Martin’s Super Markets and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that serves America’s military families, to honor an Elkhart, Ind. military family on Sunday.

Eckrich Surprises Servicemember Tony Thomas and His Family With a $5,000 Martin’s Gift Card

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a3f84ef-210c-4634-8874-415f9a85b849

Eckrich hosted a special presentation for the Thomas family at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds in South Bend, Ind. during the B100 Birthday Party, an annual concert celebrating local Country radio station 100.7. The family was surprised with a $5,000 Martin’s gift card.

Tony Thomas served in the U.S. Army and Army reserves. He was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Motor Transport Operator where he earned several medals, including an Army Achievement Medal. Tony and his wife, Sarah, have been together for 16 years and have three children. Sarah 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.

“It means a lot to me and my family to see a company like Eckrich rise up to help military families," said Tony Thomas. "This gift is going to help us out tremendously, because we won’t have to worry about grocery money for quite a long time."

The surprise was part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Now in its sixth year, Eckrich has donated more than $2.5 million to support the organization’s mission of building 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.

“Eckrich is continuing its ongoing support of military families across the country,” said Michael Baughman, Smithfield Foods director of marketing. “We appreciate Martin’s participation in this event and we were proud to present the Thomas family with a $5,000 Martin’s gift card.”

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 $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.

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.

Contact:
Ken Cohn
Breaking Limits for Eckrich
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Cell: 203-610-0509
Email: [email protected]