John Morrell Extends Efforts to Fight Hunger Across the Country

LISLE, Ill., Dec. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- John Morrell expanded its efforts to fight hunger with donation events in Utah and Washington this week. With the support of local partners, Associated Food Stores and Rosauers Stores, John Morrell was able to donate over 5,000 servings of ham to two organizations – Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City, and Catholic Charities Food For All in Spokane, Washington. The donations, which reflect the company's support of Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® campaign, come at a crucial time of year and fill an acute need for the organizations who are working hard to help make a difference in the lives of those struggling with, or who are at immediate risk of hunger.

Every day, children and families struggle to find a nutritious meal. To help battle this, John Morrell announced in 2013 that it was joining its parent company, Smithfield Foods, in supporting the No Kid Hungry® campaign, a national organization working to end childhood hunger in America. With these donations and additional donations that have taken place since joining forces with No Kid Hungry, the brand is able to help fight hunger at the local level and complement to the company's overall commitment to ensure all children in America have the healthy food they need.

"Our partnership with the No Kid Hungry campaign is an excellent way for us to help make a difference and to help get children and families the food they need," said Chuck Gitkin, vice president of marketing and R&D, John Morrell Food Group. "Giving back to the communities in which we work and live and in particular, supporting the fight against hunger, is important to all of us at John Morrell. These donations this week are a part of our ongoing efforts to fight hunger which wouldn't be possible without the support of partners such as Associated Food Stores and Rosauers Stores. With their support, it enables us to reach out to communities not just in Salt Lake City and Spokane but to many others across the country."

Throughout both Utah and Washington and across the United States, the No Kid Hungry campaign connects children in need to nutrition programs, such as school breakfast and summer meals and teaches low-income families how to cook healthy meals within their budget. This important work is accomplished through the No Kid Hungry network, which is made up of private citizens, public officials, nonprofit organizations and business leaders providing innovative hunger solutions in their communities.

"Childhood hunger is a problem that, together, we can solve in this country," said Billy Shore, Founder and CEO of Share Our Strength. "We are grateful for the support of partners like John Morrell and applaud their support of the national movement to ensure that every child in America has access to the nutritious food they need, every day."

For more information about No Kid Hungry and to join John Morrell in supporting the campaign, please click here.

About John Morrell Food Group 
With over a century and a half of experience, John Morrell Food Group brands have become respected and well known for providing premium-quality meat products to families across the United States. With products ranging from lunchmeat and franks to smoked sausage, bacon and pepperoni, the John Morrell Food Group is an important part of consumers' mealtimes. The John Morrell Food Group offers several national and regional brands including Armour^®, Eckrich^®, John Morrell^®, Curly's^®, Patrick Cudahy^®, Carando^®, Healthy Ones^®, Margherita^® Kretschmar^® and LunchMakers^®.

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®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, Gwaltney®, John Morrell®, Kretschmar®, Curly's®, Carando®, Margherita®, and Healthy Ones®. 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 and www.smithfieldcommitments.com.

About No Kid Hungry 
No child should go hungry in America, but 1 in 5 kids will face hunger this year. Using proven, practical solutions, No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger today by ensuring that kids start the day with a nutritious breakfast and families learn the skills they need to shop and cook on a budget. When we all work together, we can make sure all kids get the healthy food they need. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of national anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.

About Utah Food Bank 
Utah Food Bank provides food to a statewide network of 134 emergency food pantries and agencies. Last fiscal year, Utah Food Bank distributed 37.5 million pounds of food and goods, the equivalent of approximately 31.3 million meals for families and individuals in need. Utah Food Bank also served over 244,000 Kids Cafe meals, delivered almost 41,000 food boxes and filled more than 60,000 kids' backpacks for weekends and school holidays. For more information about Utah Food Bank, visit www.utahfoodbank.org. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UtahFoodBank and Twitter at www.twitter.com/UtahFoodBank.

About Catholic Charities Food For All 
Catholic Charities Food For All connects vulnerable eastern Washington households with healthy food, addressing barriers in access and affordability while providing nutrition education. Using innovative, community-focused strategies, CCFFA is building a food-secure, healthy, and just food system. 

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SOURCE John Morrell Food Group

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