KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 02, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Farmland donated 75,000 combined pounds of protein to Midwest food banks in Denver, Milwaukee and Kansas City, providing more than 300,000 servings to local families in need. These donations marked the culmination of Farmland’s recent Bacon for Santa holiday campaign, a commitment to donate one pound of protein to local food banks for every #BaconForSanta hashtag used on social media from December 1 through 24, 2015.
This past December, Farmland partnered with Food Bank of the Rockies, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, and Harvesters—The Community Food Network to spread holiday cheer and raise awareness of food insecurity. As part of the Bacon for Santa program, Farmland encouraged bacon lovers to pledge to leave bacon for Santa on Christmas Eve, instead of the traditional milk and cookies, to trigger a donation to a local food bank. These donations helped to support the brand’s ongoing commitment to help those in need through its Helping Hungry Homes program, a coast-to-coast initiative to fight hunger.
“Smithfield Foods’ family of brands, including Farmland, has made more than 250 donations across the country through the company’s Helping Hungry Homes program,” said Dennis Pittman, Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for Smithfield. “With Farmland’s rich history in the Midwest, we’re privileged to help give back to the local community with more than 300,000 servings of protein and bring the Farmland Bacon for Santa campaign full circle.”
Smithfield Foods has a long history of stocking food banks, supporting after-school nutrition programs and providing food relief in the wake of natural disasters. In January 2008, Smithfield established their Helping Hungry Homes initiatives to help ensure that American families in need do not go hungry.
For more information on Farmland, please visit FarmlandFoods.com, @FarmlandFoods or www.Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods.
About Farmland
At Farmland, we are passionate about pork. We have been since 1959, when we first started working side-by-side with American farm families to offer the best quality pork cuts. More than 50 years later, our unsurpassed passion and pride are stronger than ever, serving retail and foodservice customers across the United States and in 25 countries on five continents. Our natural, fresh pork products — bacon, chops, loins, ribs, sausage and ham — are tender, flavorful and made with the highest quality ingredients. To learn more about Farmland’s passion for pork, please visit www.FarmlandFoods.com and www.Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods. Farmland is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 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®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Nathan's Famous®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Carando® 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.
About Food Bank of the Rockies
Food Bank of the Rockies, a non-profit organization, distributed nearly 44 million meals last year through direct service programs and partner agencies, serving clients in Northern Colorado, including Metro Denver, and the entire state of Wyoming. One in 7 Coloradans, including nearly 1 in 4 Colorado children, struggle with hunger. Since 1978, FBR has provided more than 519 million meals to people in need in our community. Food Bank of the Rockies is a member of Feeding America. For additional information, please visit www.foodbankrockies.org. “Like” FBR on Facebook, follow on Twitter and subscribe to their blog.
About Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin
Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the largest, private, nonprofit hunger relief organization in the state with locations in Milwaukee and the Fox Valley. Founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is a local and independent member of the Feeding America network. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin collaborates with more than 570 partner hunger relief organizations, including food pantries, meal programs, shelters and community-based mobile pantries to provide 20 million meals annually to 377,000 people across 36 counties in eastern Wisconsin. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin also supports programs that improve food security for people in need, advocates on their behalf and works collaboratively to solve hunger. Together we can solve hunger. To learn more about hunger in Wisconsin, visit www.feedingamericawi.org. Join the conversation! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters is a regional food bank and was Feeding America’s 2011 Food Bank of the Year. Serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 620 not-for-profit agencies including emergency food pantries, community kitchens, shelters and others. Agencies in Harvesters’ network provide food assistance to as many as 141,500 different people each month. Harvesters, which was founded in 1979, is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.