Smithfield and San Diego football stars Melvin Ingram and Casey Hayward were at Feeding America San Diego today, as Smithfield made the seventh stop this year on its nationwide Helping Hungry Homes tour, to donate more than 36,000 pounds of protein and help serve the local San Diego community. Smithfield partnered with Ralphs and Food 4 Less to make this considerable donation, which equals 140,000 servings of protein.
Casey Hayward and Melvin Ingram are proud to join the Smithfield Helping Hungry Homes nationwide hunger-relief tour to help donate 36,000 pounds of protein to Feeding America San Diego.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/14d697e8-2523-45c8-a4af-b43939e30aaf

Helping Hungry Homes, now in its eighth year, is Smithfield’s coast-to-coast program to help Americans become more food secure. This year, as part of an effort to raise awareness about the necessity of providing assistance to individuals and families in need, the program will help fight hunger through more than 30 large-scale protein donations to food banks across the United States totaling more than 3.4 million servings. To date, Helping Hungry Homes has provided more than 38 million servings of protein to food banks across America.

Ingram and Hayward joined representatives from Smithfield, Ralphs, and Food 4 Less to present the donation to Feeding America San Diego on Friday, May 13 at 11:00 a.m., discussing the importance of these donations from Smithfield and raising awareness about the necessity of providing assistance to our neighbors in need.

“I’m both excited and honored to partner with Smithfield and its Helping Hungry Homes initiative to make this donation to Feeding America San Diego,” said Melvin Ingram. “This community has been so supportive of my football career so it was really important for me to take this opportunity to give back and help alleviate hunger in the San Diego area.”

“San Diego is my new home and I’m proud to say that with today’s donation from Smithfield, we’re really making a difference in the local community,” said Casey Hayward. “It means a lot to me to be a part of the Helping Hungry Homes program to help raise hunger awareness and help those in need, not only here in San Diego, but across the entire country.”

“Feeding America San Diego is so grateful for this generous donation going into summer, a time of high need when children lose access to school meal programs,” said Al Brislain, CEO of Feeding America San Diego. “Donations of protein are especially helpful for the families we serve, who struggle to afford a balanced diet. This food will provide thousands of meals for San Diegans in need and help us build a hunger-free and healthy San Diego.”

“Ralphs and Food 4 Less are proud to partner with a vendor like Smithfield that is committed to helping the communities where we work and live as we operate under the same philosophy,” said Kendra Doyel, Vice President, Public Affairs. “This donation to Feeding America San Diego comes at a perfect time as it will supply the food bank with essential provisions to be able to provide to those in need over the summer months.”

“We were excited to partner with Casey, Melvin, Ralphs, and Food 4 Less today to provide Feeding America San Diego with this donation through our Helping Hungry Homes program,” said Dennis Pittman, Smithfield Senior Director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. “As a food company, it’s our responsibility to help our neighbors in need and we hope to provide wholesome protein to families and individuals in the Southern California area.”

About SmithfieldA leading provider of high-quality pork products, Smithfield was founded in 1936 in Smithfield, Virginia, establishing the town as the “Ham Capital of the World.” From hand-trimmed bacon and slow-smoked holiday hams to marinated tenderloins, Smithfield brings artistry, authenticity and a commitment to heritage, flavor, and handcrafted excellence to everything it produces. With a vast product portfolio including smoked meats, hams, bacon, sausage, ribs, and a wide variety of fresh pork cuts, the company services retail, foodservice, and deli channels across the United States and 30 countries abroad. All of Smithfield's products meet the highest quality and safety standards in the industry. To learn more about how Flavor Hails from Smithfield, please visit www.Smithfield.com, www.Twitter.com/SmithfieldBrand, and www.Facebook.com/CookingWithSmithfield. Smithfield is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield FoodsSmithfield 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®, Cook's®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, 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 Feeding America San Diego Established in 2007, Feeding America San Diego (FASD) is the leading hunger-relief organization in the county, providing 18.5 million meals within the last year, and the only Feeding America affiliate in the region. FASD provides food and resources to a network of 200 distribution partners serving 60,000 children, families and seniors each week. Focused on healthy food, education and advocacy, FASD is building a hunger-free and healthy San Diego through innovative programs and collaborative partnerships. To learn more about Feeding America San Diego and its hunger-relief initiatives, visit feedingamericasd.org.

About RalphsRalphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 204 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. Last year, Ralphs contributed more than $6 million to support education, hunger relief, women’s health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company’s stores. Ralphs is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation’s largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more about Ralphs, please visit our web site at www.ralphs.com.

About Food 4 LessHeadquartered in Los Angeles, Food 4 Less operates 131 price-impact, warehouse-format supermarkets under the banners Food 4 Less in Southern California, Illinois and Indiana, and Foods Co in Central and Northern California. Last year, Food 4 Less contributed more than $4 million to support education, hunger relief, women’s health and local nonprofit organizations in the communities served by the company’s stores. Food 4 Less is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE:KR), one of the nation’s largest grocery retailers, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about Food 4 Less, please visit our website at www.food4less.com.

Media Contacts:

Hunter PR for Smithfield
Tiffany Daggett
(212) 679-6600
tdaggett@hunterpr.com

Feeding America San Diego    
Madeleine Hennessy
(858) 768-7435
mhennessy@feedingamericasd.org

Ralphs / Food 4 Less
Kendra Doyel
(310) 884-4141
kendra.doyel@ralphs.com
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