KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Farmland Foods and Richard Petty presented $50,000 to Harvesters—The Community Food Network as a result of a summer-long campaign to raise awareness about hunger in the Kansas City area. During the "Bacon A Difference" campaign, which ran from Memorial Day through Labor Day, Farmland donated 4.3 cents to Harvesters for each bacon package purchased at participating grocery stores in Kansas City.
In addition, today Farmland Foods donated more than 5,000 packages of signature Hickory Smoked, Thick Sliced Hickory Smoked, Lower Sodium/Less Fat, and Re-sealable Applewood Bacon, helping to ensure families, children and seniors across the region have access to much-needed protein.
"On behalf of Farmland, I'd like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all of Kansas City for their exceptional support of our 'Bacon A Difference' campaign this summer," said Mike Brown, President and Chief Operating Officer of Farmland. "It is through your generosity that Farmland is able to provide a staggering 254,000 meals to families, children and seniors in need in our hometown this fall."
Beyond today's donation, Farmland also is raising awareness of Harvesters' mission by featuring the organization on the legendary No. 43 Ford at the Sprint Cup Series Race at the Kansas Speedway this weekend. If the No. 43 Ford wins Sunday's race, Farmland has pledged to double the donation to Harvesters for a total donation of $100,000.
"Through Farmland's partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports, we are taking advantage of this unique opportunity to spread the word about hunger relief efforts to a broad audience," said George Richter, President and Chief Operating Officer of Smithfield Foods Pork Group.
"We are excited to kick off race weekend with Farmland's generous donation to Harvesters. Our team is proud that Farmland and Harvesters will appear on the No. 43 Ford at the Speedway this Sunday," said Richard Petty, legendary racecar driver and team owner.
In addition to cash and bacon donations, Farmland is committed to supporting Harvesters' hunger relief efforts through ongoing employee volunteering and activation. Since April 2012, Farmland employees have donated more than 400 hours of service to Harvesters. This month has been designated "Fight Against Hunger" month at Farmland Foods. Employees are collecting canned goods and nonperishable items with the goal of overflowing the Harvesters barrels stationed through the Farmland offices in Kansas City.
"Farmland Foods has set a high standard for corporate involvement and demonstrated a company-wide commitment to Harvesters' mission of feeding hungry people today and working to end hunger tomorrow," remarked Karen Haren, President and CEO of Harvesters.
About Farmland Foods
Farmland Foods, Inc., based in Kansas City, Mo., provides a broad selection of pork products to retail and foodservice customers in the U.S. and abroad across a variety of categories, including bacon, fresh pork, hams, fresh sausage, hot dogs and lunchmeat. Farmland Foods has a large and growing international business, exporting products to more than 60 countries across six continents. Since its founding in 1959, the company has maintained a proud heritage of working side by side with American farm families. Farmland Foods, which reached over $4 billion in sales in 2011, is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods.
About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters is this area's only food bank and was Feeding America's 2011 Food Bank of the Year. Serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 620 not-for-profit agencies including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, children's homes and others. Agencies in Harvesters' network provide food assistance to as many as 66,000 different people each week. Harvesters, which was founded in 1979, is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports (www.richardpettymotorsports.com), co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force and STP, and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partner Stanley and DEWALT. In addition, Michael Annett wheels the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
Source: Farmland Foods
