LISLE, Ill., Oct. 24, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, teamed up with Bashas’ and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a Phoenix military family on Friday.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c36fa84b-e150-4c29-a360-7c26f4a515d5
Eckrich surprised the Johnson family at Bashas’ in Litchfield Park, Ariz. to honor, thank, and support the family for their service. They were presented with a gift of $5,000 in free groceries at Bashas’, courtesy of Eckrich. As part of the event, crowds of shoppers were treated to samples of delicious Eckrich smoked sausage and deli meat, live country music, and an appearance by Phoenix Country radio station 99.9.
Kirk Johnson served a combined 20 years in the US Marine Corps and Army National Guard. He was an automotive maintenance engineer during Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning eight medals and five ribbons, including the Army Commendation Medal. His wife, Liz, is his full-time caregiver and a member of Operation Homefront’s Hearts of Valor program, a network of more than 3,000 caregivers of wounded service members which provides annual retreats, support groups, and online communities. The family has two children.
“It means a lot that Eckrich honors the entire military family,” said Kirk Johnson. “We’re really appreciative of it, because without support back home it’s difficult for us.”
The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank, and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012.
“Eckrich is proud to continue its support of military families across the country,” said Jennifer Zmrhal, Smithfield Foods senior director of marketing. “We appreciate Bashas’ partnership in presenting the Johnson family with $5,000 in free groceries.”
For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.
Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Eckrich
Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.
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®, Nathan's Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, John Morrell®, Cook's®, Kretschmar®, Gwaltney®, Curly's®, Margherita®, Carando®, Healthy Ones®, Krakus®, Morliny®, and Berlinki®. 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 Operation Homefront
A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families since its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront’s expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.