Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes® Works With Walmart to Donate More Than 35,000 Pounds of Protein to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank

LOWELL, Ark., Aug. 10, 2017 -- Today, Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes^® initiative, a program focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure, joined forces with Wal-Mart to donate more than 35,000 pounds of protein to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. The donation, equivalent to more than 140,000 servings, will help those fighting hunger across Northwest Arkansas, where one in four individuals are food insecure.

Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods, and Shawn Baldwin, senior vice president of Hispanic initiatives for Wal-Mart. 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/ee910924-3cda-47d0-973e-c9e8d6a53537

“Smithfield Foods has been an incredible partner to us,” said Kent Eikenberry, president and CEO of the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. “This donation brings their total to over 75,000 pounds of protein donated for the year. We look forward to distributing this to our agency partners who will provide it to their clients.”

Smithfield and Wal-Mart representatives presented the donation to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank this morning at an event that raised awareness of hunger’s impact in the local community. Members from all three organizations discussed the significance of protein donations in helping the 120,000 individuals, including one in three children, who face hunger each day in Northwest Arkansas.

Smithfield’s donation to Northwest Arkansas 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 nearly 60 food banks across the country. This donation adds to the more than 65 million servings of protein donated since 2011.

“We are proud to offer our continued support to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank and the thousands of individuals it serves every year,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. “Although this donation will positively impact many individuals across Northwest Arkansas, hunger is a national issue, and we encourage others to join our fight and volunteer at their local food bank.”

Following today’s event, Helping Hungry Homes^® will visit Washington DC, Thursday, Aug. 17. For more information about Helping Hungry Homes^® and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.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 Northwest Arkansas Food Bank
Northwest Arkansas Food Bank was established in 1988 by a group of concerned citizens who saw the need for hunger assistance in Northwest Arkansas. Over the past 28 years, the Food Bank has grown to serve citizens of Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll counties, a commitment still strong today. Each year, the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank distributes over 11.5 million pounds of food in Benton, Washington, Madison, and Carroll counties. It is through partnerships with well over 160 member agencies that we are able to reach out to those in need. The Northwest Arkansas Food Bank is an affiliate of Feeding America.

About Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 260 million customers and members visit our 11,723 stores under 59 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2017 revenue of $485.9 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.  

Media Contacts:

Dalton Agency for Smithfield
Heather Houston
(904) 398-5222
[email protected]

Northwest Arkansas Food Bank
Mike Williams
479-347-2382
[email protected]

Wal-Mart
Molly Blakeman
(479) 204-6389
[email protected]