Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! Bring Ready. Set. PLAY. to Atlanta

LISLE, Ill., Aug. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The students of Whitefoord Elementary School and the surrounding community enjoyed a piece of Coney Island this week thanks to Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM!. The world famous hot dog company and the national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the balanced and active play they need to thrive partnered with the Whitefoord, Inc. to bring Ready. Set. PLAY. to the Atlanta area. Nathan's and KaBOOM! have staged similar events across the country as part of the Ready. Set. PLAY. program, which was created earlier this year to celebrate play and the "playmakers" who are making play possible in communities around the country.

Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! chose to partner with Whitefoord, Inc. as a way to honor their commitment to not only the mental health of children, but the physical health as well. Whitefoord, Inc. is a unique community resource that connects quality healthcare and education services for children and families in and around Southeast Atlanta. In 2008, the community teamed up with KaBOOM! to build a new playspace in their neighborhood.

"We truly enjoy our partnership with KaBOOM! and are thrilled to collaborate on a program such as Ready. Set. PLAY.," said Mike Paribello, senior director of marketing for the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods and licensing partner of Nathan's Famous. "Through this program, we get to celebrate and honor the positive work schools and organizations, such as Whitefoord, Inc., are doing to support children and their communities by promoting and protecting active play. Plus, it's a fun way to bring a taste of Coney Island to youth and communities across the country."

"The fundamentals of balanced and active lifestyles begin at home with our parents and in our communities," said KaBOOM! CEO and Founder Darell Hammond. "With support from Nathan's Famous through Ready. Set. PLAY., we are able to bring play opportunities to communities across the nation and inspire kids and families to incorporate play in their everyday lives." 

The fun-filled afternoon included the flavors of Coney Island with delicious Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, carnival-like games, giveaways and much more. A drawing was also held at the event with four winners receiving tickets to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, August 31 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Whitefoord, Inc.'s mission is to partner with families and the community to ensure that all are healthy – mentally and physically - and children have what they need to succeed in school," said Ossie Mitchell with Whitefoord, Inc. "We are so thankful for the support from Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! and are excited to get a taste of Coney Island through Ready. Set. PLAY."

For more information, please visit Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! online.

About Nathan's
Nathan's is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands and nine foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. At June 29, 2014, the Nathan's restaurant system consisted of 311 units, comprised of 306 franchised units and five company-owned units (including one seasonal unit). Nathan's was ranked #55 on the Forbes list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. Last year, over 480 million Nathan's Famous hot dogs were sold. For additional information about Nathan's please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com.

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 KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold new goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the balanced and active play they need to thrive. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play, inspires, empowers and leads play advocates, and educates and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children's lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

About Whitefoord, Inc.
Established in 1995, Whitefoord, Inc. is a unique community resource that connects quality healthcare and education services for children and families in and around Southeast Atlanta. In collaboration with the community, we offer in-school and free-standing community health centers, accredited early childhood education programs and integrated after-school programs that keep children well, ready for school and safe. From staying healthy to developing life-long learners, our programs provide a strong foundation and support children and families in reaching their potential. For more information, please visit: http://whitefoord.org/.

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SOURCE Nathan's Famous