Celebrity Cook Paula Deen Launches 10-City Helping Hungry Homes(TM) Tour
One Million Servings Made Possible by Smithfield Foods through America’s Second Harvest
SAVANNAH, Ga. --- January 14, 2008 --- Not even the “Queen of Southern Cuisine” could envision providing one million servings of meat to the nation’s hungry. But, with the help of Smithfield Foods and America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network, Paula Deen will deliver enough food to do just that. Deen, one of the Food Network’s top celebrity cooks, today launched the Smithfield Foods “Helping Hungry Homes™ Across America” tour, the first of many Smithfield Foods hunger initiatives for 2008. The 10-city tour kicked off today in Deen’s hometown of Savannah.
Deen and her family, along with volunteers from the local America’s Second Harvest food bank, unloaded 500 spiral hams for food insecure families in Savannah. The Smithfield Crunchy Glazed Honey Spiral Sliced Hams are formulated with Deen’s personal recipe. Next scheduled stops for the tour are Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. before concluding in Detroit.
“Our goal was to get as much food to as many needy families as possible,” Deen said. “I feel so grateful that my partners at Smithfield are helping me deliver enough food to serve one million people across the country. When I learned about all the working hungry in this country, I realized that I had to do something. Kicking off the tour in Savannah with my husband Michael and sons Jamie and Bobby is just the most wonderful feeling in the world.”
Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes initiative was established to help ensure that American families in need do not go hungry. Smithfield Foods and its independent operating companies have a long history of stocking food banks, supporting after-school nutrition programs and providing food relief in the wake of natural disasters. This 10-city tour alone will distribute 250,000 pounds of meat products with an estimated retail value of over $1 million. Additional Helping Hungry Homes programs will be announced in 2008 to reach millions more of the nation’s hungry.
“Although Smithfield Foods has long been a supporter of hunger relief initiatives, we felt the need to help shine a spotlight on an ever-increasing problem for American families,” said Dennis Treacy, vice president of environmental and corporate affairs for Smithfield Foods. “Partnering with Paula Deen, who holds the value of family in such high regard, is a gratifying experience for a very worthwhile cause. Providing hunger relief through our Helping Hungry Homes initiative will remain a high priority throughout our family of companies.”
America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization with 205 food bank members nationwide, will assist with the coordination of food distribution at each of the tour stops.
“Meat donations are greatly needed for their nutritional value but are often the hardest to come by, making this donation all the more critical for our community,” said Mary Jane Crouch, executive director of America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. “Savannah families in need will be able to sit down to a nutritious meal thanks to the efforts of Smithfield Foods and Paula Deen.”
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Notes to Editors:
Paula Deen
Emmy-award winning celebrity cook Paula Deen hosts two Food Network cooking shows, “Paula’s Home Cooking” and “Paula’s Party.” She is also a best-selling author of seven cookbooks and publishes a lifestyle magazine, Cooking with Paula Deen. Deen and her sons Jamie and Bobby own and operate the highly popular The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Ga., and she and her brother run the equally successful Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House nearby. Known for her “down-home” personality and traditional Southern cooking, Deen partners with Smithfield Foods on a number of joint ventures, including her personal recipe Smithfield Crackle Glazed Spiral-sliced Ham and her signature line of Southern-style dressings, marinades, and glazing and grilling sauces.
Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a global food company with operations in 13 countries through wholly-owned subsidiaries and joint ventures. Headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia, the company produces more than 50 brands of pork, beef and turkey products and more than 200 gourmet foods. Employing more than 57,000 people across the globe, Smithfield Foods is the world’s largest producer and processor of pork and a leader in turkey processing, cattle feeding and beef processing.
America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia
America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia provides food for hungry people and improves communities in 21 coastal Georgia counties which it serves. In 2007 Second Harvest distributed over 4.5 million pounds of food, feeding 90,000 people, including 52,916 children.
America's Second Harvest - The Nation's Food Bank Network
America's Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network is the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through its network of more than 200 member food banks, America's Second Harvest annually provides assistance to more than 25 million people in need, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each year, America's Second Harvest secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of food and grocery products to support feeding programs at approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, and Kids Cafes. To learn more, please visit www.secondharvest.org.
Contact:
Beth Andersen
Charleston|Orwig, Inc.
262.563.5100
or 262.352.2430
Mary Jane Crouch
America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia
912.658.5250
Ross Fraser
America's Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network
312.641.6422
