Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Smith’s Food & Drug, joined forces to donate more than 40,000 pounds of protein to us as part of Smithfield’s 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour. Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. The donation, equivalent to more than 160,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across the state. This year marked the third such donation to Utah Food Bank, bringing the grand total to 470,000 servings of protein provided through this effort.
“Here at the Utah Food Bank, we understand that hunger is all around us, but getting food to hungry Utahns requires considerable resources,” said Ginette Bott, president & CEO for Utah Food Bank. “We’re grateful for partners, like Smithfield Foods and Smith’s, who provide the necessary nutrition to feed those in need. This donation will support many in our community, and we are pleased to continue working to alleviate hunger in our great state.”
Representatives from Smithfield and Smith’s, presented the donation to us, which is significant not only for its size, but also because it consists of much-needed, but rarely donated, protein-rich food items. After the donation, employees from Smithfield and Smith’s volunteered their time here at our warehouse filling boxes with food destined for homebound seniors and people with disabilities.
This was the 38th large-scale protein donation made by Smithfield to food banks across the country during its 2019 Helping Hungry Homes® tour. Since the program’s inception in 2008, Smithfield has provided more than 130 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts, and community outreach programs nationwide.
“At Smithfield, we’re dedicated to feeding people, especially in the communities we call home,” said Jonathan Toms, associate manager of charitable initiatives for Smithfield Foods. “We’re humbled to provide this donation to support our neighbors in need throughout Utah, and we’re pleased to partner with like-minded organizations like Smith’s as we work to alleviate food insecurity for all Americans.”
