Smithfield Donates More than 80,000 Servings of Protein to Charities

Smithfield last week journeyed across the U.S. to donate more than 800,000 servings of protein to several charitable organizations, touching the lives of people affected by the tough economy, personal hardships and natural disasters.

Smithfield, along with its partner, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), joined NBC's Today show's "Lend a Hand" campaign with Al Roker. The Today show each year travels coast to coast to partner with organizations dedicated to helping people in need.

The philanthropic campaign began on June 13 in Anchorage, Alaska, and continued on to Las Vegas; Houston, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; and finally to Charleston, W. Va. Smithfield and the UFCW each day of the week made deliveries of more than 120,000 servings of protein.   

On the wings of an entire week of philanthropy, Smithfield also donated more than 140,000 servings of protein in Joplin, Mo., on June 17, to aid the victims of recent tornado devastation. Smithfield's donation benefited 32 local ministries and 240 local families affected by last month's storms.

Last week's donations are in line with Smithfield's programs working to eliminate hunger in America. "Feeding the Hungry" is a joint program of the UFCW and Smithfield with the goal of feeding more than 20 million food-insecure people across the country over the course of a three-year period.