Smithfield and Safeway Donate Over 25,000 Pounds of Protein to Oregon Food Bank

Smithfield’s Helping Hungry Homes tour made the 20th stop on its 2016 nationwide hunger-relief tour to donate more than 25,000 pounds of protein to Oregon Food Bank. Smithfield partnered with Safeway to make the donation, which will provide more than 100,000 servings to communities throughout Oregon, where one in five people suffer from food insecurity.

Representatives from Smithfield and Safeway presented the donations to Oregon Food Bank during an event on Aug. 4 at the food bank. Speakers discussed the importance of donations like this in Oregon communities, where 32 percent of food bank assistance recipients are children who depend on school lunch programs throughout the year.

“Meats are high in protein and important for a nutritious diet, especially for growing children,” says Katie Pearmine, Oregon Food Bank’s strategic sourcing manager. “We are grateful for this donation from Smithfield since meat is one of the most costly and in-demand items.”

Helping Hungry Homes, now in its eighth year, is Smithfield’s coast-to-coast campaign to help Americans become more food secure. This year, the program will help fight hunger through more than 30 large-scale protein donations to food banks across the United States totaling more than 3.5 million servings. To date, Helping Hungry Homes has provided more than 40 million servings of protein to food banks across America.

“We understand the need to help eradicate hunger in Oregon, and are proud to partner with Smithfield and further enable Oregon Food Bank’s efforts to solve it,” says Greg McNiff, Safeway Portland division president.

“Smithfield is proud to partner with Safeway to provide Oregon Food Bank with this donation through our Helping Hungry Homes program,” says Dennis Pittman, Smithfield senior director of corporate communications and public affairs. “As a food company, it’s imperative that we help our neighbors in need. Through this donation, we are proud to provide wholesome protein to families and individuals throughout the state of Oregon.”