Farmland Fights Hunger With Former Star Of 'The Bachelor' Chris Soules

DES MOINES, Iowa — Farmland is partnering with former star of "The Bachelor" and proud American farmer Chris Soules to help fight childhood hunger this holiday season. Today, Farmland and Soules presented a $25,000 donation check to No Kid Hungry at the Ankeny Prairie Trail Hy-Vee located at 2510 S.W. State St. This check presentation is the second installment of the Farmland Fights Hunger campaign for which every Farmland product sold now through Dec. 31, Farmland will make a $0.25 donation to No Kid Hungry, up to $100,000. Every $1 donated to No Kid Hungry can provide a child 10 healthy meals through on-the-ground programs and partnerships. With the help of Farmland and its customers, No Kid Hungry can connect one million meals to children facing hunger in America.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9cfdac9a-1e22-4d78-9096-2d06127bf5b7

Today, Soules joined Farmland and No Kid Hungry at the local Hy-Vee to drive awareness of the Farmland Fights Hunger campaign and encourage locals to support the cause. In addition to giving back, all guests who attended the event enjoyed free, delicious Farmland bacon samples.

"As a born and raised farmer, I value the importance of providing fresh, high quality food to children and families not only in my home state of Iowa, but across the country," said Soules. "The holiday season is all about giving back and I'm excited to partner with Farmland to support this great cause."

"Our mission at No Kid Hungry is simple; we want to ensure that every child gets healthy food every single day," said Jill Davis, senior director of corporate partnerships at No Kid Hungry. "Kids struggle with hunger not only during the holidays, but year-round, and we couldn't do the work that we do without the support of companies like Farmland."

"Hy-Vee is thrilled to be a part of the Farmland Fights Hunger campaign," said Kevin Hudachek, store director at the Ankeny Prairie Trail Hy-Vee. "Through this campaign, our goal is to make sure that no one goes hungry, especially children in the greater Des Moines area, so initiatives like this are extremely important to us."

"As a food company, we are dedicated to making sure that no family has to worry about where their next meal comes from," said Megan Thomas, senior brand manager for Smithfield Foods. "We're honored to have such great partners like Chris Soules and Hy-Vee to help raise awareness and give back to No Kid Hungry this holiday season."   

Participating Farmland products include everything from Farmland bacon and breakfast sausage to boneless ham and lunch meats. For more information on the Farmland Fights Hunger campaign and how to donate, please visit FarmlandFoods.com, @FarmlandFoods or Facebook.com/FarmlandFoods.  

Farmland is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Farmland
Founded in 1959, Farmland is a maker of high-quality, popular consumer goods such as bacon and sausage, and serves retail and foodservice customers. To learn more about Farmland, please visit www.FarmlandFoods.com. Farmland is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $14 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield®, Eckrich®, Nathan's Famous®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, John Morrell®, Gwaltney®, Kretschmar®, Margherita®, Curly's®, Carando®, Healthy Ones®, Krakus®, Morliny® and Berlinki®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America, but nearly 1 in 5 kids will face hunger this year. Using proven, practical solutions, No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger today by ensuring that kids start the day with a nutritious breakfast and families learn the skills they need to shop and cook on a budget. When we all work together, we can make sure kids get the healthy food they need. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of national anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength. Join us at www.NoKidHungry.org.

About Hy-Vee, Inc.
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 240 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of $9.3 billion annually. Hy-Vee ranks among the top 25 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. Supermarket News, the authoritative voice of the food industry, has honored the company with a Whole Health Enterprise Award for its leadership in providing services and programs that promote a healthy lifestyle. For more information, visit www.hy-vee.com.

Source: Smithfield Foods