Smithfield Foods and Feed the Children distribute food and school supplies in local communities

Smithfield donates $100,000 and thousands of pounds of food to host resource rallies and help combat food insecurity

This back-to-school season, Smithfield Foods is partnering with leading hunger-fighting organization Feed the Children to provide healthy foods, backpacks, nonperishable foods, household goods and more to children and families in three communities where Smithfield Foods is a local employer.

Together, the organizations are hosting three food drives, each supporting approximately 400 families, to help alleviate hunger in local communities. The first drive took place on August 6 in Crete, Nebraska. Additional drives are planned for August 13 in Monmouth, Illinois, and August 26 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The drives are made possible by a $100,000 donation from Smithfield Foods.

Smithfield Foods is also donating thousands of pounds of much-needed protein to the families served at the events, including products such as Smithfield^® Bacon, ham, ribs and sirloin.

“Access to safe and healthy food is key to starting the school year off right,” said Steve Evans, vice president of community development at Smithfield Foods. “We are proud to partner with Feed the Children to ensure local children and families have the support they need to succeed in and outside of the classroom.”

“Children cannot thrive if their basic needs are not met,” said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. “A widespread problem like child hunger can only be solved if enough people work together. Partners like Smithfield Foods are critical to our mission as we serve communities across the United States.”

At each of these events, families receive a 25-pound box of non-perishable food items, including canned vegetables, macaroni and cheese, and cereal. Families also receive a 15-pound box of household items such as shampoo, laundry detergent, razors, and toothpaste. In addition, children receive backpacks filled with various school supplies such as notebooks, binders, glue sticks, crayons, pens, and pencils, as well as a non-perishable meal kit.

With one in five children in the United States experiencing food insecurity, hunger remains a serious problem in many communities, especially during the summer months and back-to-school season. As the cost of school supplies continues to rise, it can be difficult for many families to send their children to school with the materials they need to learn and develop in the classroom.

Smithfield also recently donated $500,000 to fund SUN Bucks in North Carolina, a newly established, permanent USDA program that provides summer food assistance to children and families, and $100,000 to two Pay What You Can cafes in Missouri and North Carolina.

Smithfield’s Helping Hungry Homes hunger relief program^®has provided hundreds of millions of servings of protein in all 50 U.S. states, as well as 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.

***Courtesy of Smithfield Foods, Inc***