Smithfield Foods Donates 38,000 Pounds of Food to Feed Kansas Veterans and Families

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May 21, 2024, 13:00 ET

Kansas Food Bank and Geary County Food Pantry will collaborate to distribute the company's protein donation to Kansas veterans and neighbors facing food insecurity

SMITHFIELD, Va., May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Smithfield Foods donated more than 38,000 pounds of protein to help veterans and families in Geary County, Kansas, who are facing food insecurity. Feeding America's Kansas Food Bank will collaborate with Geary County Food Pantry to distribute protein servings throughout the community.

Tolcha Mesele, senior community development manager, Smithfield Foods, presents a donation check for more than 150,000 servings of food during Armed Forces Day Celebration event in Junction City, Kansas.

"At Smithfield Foods, we are on a mission to ensure that no one goes hungry, especially military veterans and families that have made the ultimate sacrifice to serve our country," said Steve Evans, vice president, community development for Smithfield Foods. "We're honored to do good in this community through this food donation to take a bite of out hunger in Geary County."

The donation, which included bacon, sausage, smoked sausage, ham steaks, hot dogs and various sandwich meats, will provide over 150,000 servings of protein to individuals at risk of hunger in Geary County.

The donation was announced during the Armed Forces Day Celebration on May 18 hosted by the Military Affairs Council near Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas. Geary County experiences the highest rate of child food insecurity and one of the highest rates of overall food insecurity in the state.

"We are deeply grateful to Smithfield Foods for their generous donation to our community and being a huge part of our Armed Forces Day event," said Isreal Waddell, director for Military Affairs Council for Junction City, Kansas and Geary County, Kansas. "Their commitment to supporting our military families and combating food insecurity in Geary County is truly commendable. This donation will make a meaningful difference in the lives of the community and the men and women who have selflessly served our country."

Smithfield's hunger relief program, Helping Hungry Homes®, has provided hundreds of millions of servings of protein all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Poland, Romania and Mexico, since 2008. Smithfield donated nearly 28 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community outreach programs across the U.S. in 2023 and has pledged to donate 200 million servings of protein by 2025.

For more information about Smithfield's programs to support local communities, please visit smithfieldfoods.com/helping-communities.

About Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is a U.S. food company that employs more than 54,000 people in seven countries and partners with thousands of American farmers. As one of the world's leading vertically integrated protein companies, we are dedicated to producing "Good food. Responsibly.^®" to feed a growing world population. We have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including our industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in our U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30% across our entire U.S. value chain by 2030. We believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community outreach programs in all 50 U.S. states. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield^®, Eckrich^®, Gwaltney^® and Nathan's Famous^®, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com and connect with us on Facebook, X, formerly known as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads.