Smithfield Foods, in partnership with Price Chopper, donated more than 32,000 pounds of food to Harvesters—The Community Food Network in Kansas City, Mo., to fight hunger in local communities.

The donation, which included ham, smoked sausage, pork chops and other Smithfield products, will provide over 130,000 servings of protein to individuals facing food insecurity in a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. Following the donation, team members from Smithfield’s Kansas City, Martin City and Princeton, Mo., operations volunteered at Harvesters, packing more than 600 bags for the food bank’s BackSnack program. 

“As a food company, we are passionate about giving back to support our neighbors facing food insecurity,” said Jonathan Toms, senior community development manager for Smithfield Foods. “On behalf of our team members, including more than 2,500 right here in Kansas City and the surrounding communities, we are proud to present this donation of protein to help fight hunger in a place we call home.”

Stephen Davis, president and CEO of Harvesters, said, “We are so grateful for the commitment from Smithfield Foods and Price Chopper to fight hunger in our region and give back to neighbors experiencing food insecurity in our communities. Protein is always a much-requested food item from our agency partners, and this particular donation comes at a critical time with an increasing need for food assistance in our area.”

Through its Helping Hungry Homes hunger-relief program, Smithfield Foods is standing together with Price Chopper to fight hunger in northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. This donation to Harvesters will provide more than 130,000 servings of protein to help support more than 760 nonprofit agencies including emergency food pantries, community kitchens, homeless shelters and children’s homes. 

Smithfield’s Helping Hungry Homes program has provided hundreds of millions of servings of protein in all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Poland, Romania and Mexico, since 2008. In 2022, the company donated nearly 25 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster-relief efforts and community outreach programs across the U.S. To reflect its continued commitment to fighting food insecurity, Smithfield has pledged to donate 200 million servings of protein by 2025.

Source: Smithfield Foods Inc.