Smithfield Foods Donates More than 64,000 Hams to Fight Hunger During the Holidays

Company delivers more than 286,000 pounds of hams to food banks in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin

SMITHFIELD, Va., Dec. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Smithfield Foods donated 64,576 hams in December to food banks in six states through its Helping Hungry Homes® hunger relief program.

“Millions of people in the U.S. don’t have enough food to eat, and this is especially tragic during the holiday season,” said Steve Evans, vice president of community development for Smithfield Foods. “We’re honored to be able share these hams with our neighbors in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah and Wisconsin, where more than 13,000 of our employees live, work and raise their families.”

Smithfield delivered hams with a net weight of more than 286,000 pounds to the following food banks in the Feeding America network between Dec. 15 and 20:

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin – Milwaukee, WI: 8,760 hams (37,000 lbs.)Feeding South Dakota – Sioux Falls, SD: 8,400 hams (35,000 lbs.)Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri – Columbia, MO: 8,584 hams (37,700 lbs.)Food Bank for the Heartland – Omaha, NE: 7,152 hams (30,700 lbs.)Food Bank of Iowa – Des Moines, IA – 8,936 hams (38,000 lbs.)Food Bank of Lincoln – Lincoln, NE: 5,396 hams (30,500 lbs.)Second Harvest Community Food Bank – St. Joseph, MO: 9,744 hams (42,800 lbs.)Utah Food Bank – Salt Lake City, UT: 7,604 hams (34,500 lbs.)

According to Feeding America, 44 million people in the U.S. face hunger, including 13 million children, and 100% of U.S. counties lack access to enough food. In 2022, 49 million people turned to food assistance for extra help.

Smithfield also recently made several significant food donations to aid in hunger relief during the holidays. In December, the company distributed 7,300 free Smithfield Spiral Quarter Hams to individuals and families in the St. Charles, Illinois, area, and donated more than 32,000 pounds of protein to the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Smithfield also held a “Hams for the Holidays” food distribution event in Smithfield, Virginia, distributing 1,000 free Smithfield Hickory Smoked Spiral Sliced Hams and holiday sides from Kroger to neighbors facing hunger in the local community.

In November, Smithfield donated 65,000 pounds of protein to Feeding Southwest Virginia and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, and donated 50,000 pounds of ham, bacon, sausage and other products during the Mayflower Marathon to benefit the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank and Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

Smithfield has been committed to fighting hunger and food insecurity since 2008. The company’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. In 2022, Smithfield donated nearly 25 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community outreach programs across the U.S. 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 nearly 60,000 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. 

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