Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! Bring Summer Fun with Ready. Set. PLAY. Program

LISLE, Ill., July 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! brought some summer fun and a little slice of Coney Island to the students of Paramount School of Excellence and its surrounding community this week. The world famous hot dog company and the national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the play they need to thrive celebrated the school and their commitment to their students by hosting an afternoon of fun as a part of their Ready. Set. PLAY. Program, which celebrates play and the "playmakers" who are making play possible in communities around the country. Kroger Supermarkets also stepped in to support the event with a donation of food items to complement the Nathan's hot dogs students and guests enjoyed during the afternoon of fun.

Paramount School of Excellence, located just outside of downtown Indianapolis, was selected for the event because of their passion for the importance of play for youth and their commitment to promoting and protecting balanced and active play. Nathan's and KaBOOM! have staged similar events across the country as part of Ready. Set. PLAY. to honor organizations and schools and to further encourage activities that promote active play as a part of healthy development of children.

"We have had a blast bringing a piece of Coney Island to youth across the country this summer through 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. "We are honored to have a partnership with KaBOOM! and are thrilled to partner with Kroger Supermarkets to host this play day at the Paramount School of Excellence. This is just another way we can honor and celebrate schools and other organizations that support children and their communities by promoting and protecting active play."

"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. Leading up to the event, middle school students were encouraged to participate in an essay contest focused on the importance of play and what play means to them. Four winners were selected at the event and as a prize, will attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"Paramount School is thrilled to partner with KaBOOM! and Nathan's Famous to receive this fun filled afternoon as part of their Ready. Set. PLAY. program," shared Tommy Reddicks, the School's Executive Director. "Each and every day, our students and Near Eastside children benefit from Paramount's Dream Playground and KaBOOM!'s gift of 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. The Nathan's restaurant system currently consists of 329 units, comprised of 324 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 430 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 Paramount School of Excellence

Located in Indianapolis's Near Eastside, Paramount School of Excellence educates K-8 students in an innovative environment that instills high expectations for success. Paramount accomplishes its mission and the mastery of Indiana State Standards through an emphasis on rigorous academics, technology and the environment. For more information, please visit www.paramountindy.org.

About Kroger

The Kroger Co. has been serving local communities for 131 years. The  Kroger Central Division has 136 food stores, 114 pharmacies and 82 fuel centers operating under four banners; Kroger, Scott's, Owen's and Pay Less, with locations primarily in Indiana and Illinois, in addition to three stores in Missouri, one in Michigan and one in Ohio. Kroger Central Division is dedicated to supporting every local community it serves, contributing more than $14 million in 2013 to local organizations, primarily focusing on hunger relief, K-12 education, health causes and diversity. The Kroger Co. was recently named the most generous company in America in a Chronicle of Philanthropy listing detailed in Forbes Magazine. At Kroger we value:  honesty, respect, inclusion, diversity, safety and integrity.

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SOURCE Nathan's Famous