Eckrich®, Operation Homefront, and WinCo Partner to Honor Local Military Family

ALBANY, Ore., Aug. 07, 2017 -- Eckrich^®, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with WinCo Foods and Operation Homefront to honor a Corvallis, Oregon military family on Friday, and thank them for their service.

The Taylor Family Receives a Year of Free Groceries at WinCo, Courtesy of Eckrich

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/03949229-1a3e-4186-9c12-b760ca39e5e4

When the Taylor family arrived to the neighborhood WinCo store, Eckrich surprised the family with a grocery shopping spree. Then at checkout, the brand provided the family with another surprise: a gift of free groceries for a year at WinCo Foods, valued at more than $10,000.         

Specialist Timothy Taylor honorably served with the Army National Guard for seven years as a combat engineer during Operation Enduring Freedom. During his service, Timothy was awarded several medals and ribbons including a Purple Heart and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Timothy and his wife Angelena have been married for nine years and have three children. Angelena 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.

"Words cannot express how grateful we are for this gift," said Timothy Taylor. "With three kids, someone is always hungry in our house, so this gift of groceries will help relieve a lot of stress from our family. Thank you to Eckrich and WinCo for this amazing gift."

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank, and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, now in its sixth year of the partnership, 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 – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.                                                                 

“Eckrich has a long history of supporting military families across the country, and we are grateful for WinCo’s partnership here in Oregon to honor the Taylors,” said Mike Paribello, Smithfield Foods senior director of marketing. “We cannot recognize this family enough for the service and sacrifice they give each day but we hope this gift of groceries will serve as a sign of our appreciation for all that they do.”

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:
Hannah Meadors
Breaking Limits for Eckrich
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Cell: 434-250-4770
E-Mail: [email protected]