John Morrell Food Service Announces New MenuQuest Service

LISLE, Ill. – John Morrell Food Group Foodservice announced its new MenuQuest platform at a special event held at Soldier Field in Chicago. The event was hosted by celebrity chef Stephanie Izard and attended by many leading Foodservice professionals. John Morrell Food Group also showcased its support for Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® campaign by donating $5,000 to the organization in addition to its ongoing donations and support for the organization.

MenuQuest is an innovative program that offers strategic council to restaurants and food providers. It lends its culinary expertise to assist with menu innovation and culinary consultation. The program received excellent feedback and results with test operators, which spurred the official launch.

We are extremely excited to launch the new MenuQuest platform," said Beth Sharkey, marketing manager, John Morrell Food Group. "Whether it's a start up organization or a successful national chain, our team has the experience and resources to help grow its business. Everything from menu innovation, to recipe development, to culinary trends and insights, MenuQuest has it covered."

MenuQuest's commitment to understanding the latest culinary trends was reflected in the five tasting stations at the event at Soldier Field. Each station's menu and drink pairing was developed by Chef Mike Wales, and demonstrated a trend in action Trends showcased were flatbread, alcohol infusion, ethnic mash-up, PM flavors for breakfast and charcuterie inspiration, which featured a Chef Izard original recipe. The event included live jazz music and Chef Izard signed her cookbook for the attendees.

Additionally, John Morrell Food Group exhibited its partnership with Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign. The No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day by connecting them to nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals and by teaching families how to cook healthy, affordable meals at home. An Operator Commitment Board was displayed at the event and upon it being filled with statements of support, John Morrell Food Group pledged $5,000 to the campaign. Over $150,000 has been donated to Share Our Strength programs by John Morrell Food Group and its parent company, Smithfield Foods.

For more information on MenuQuest, to sign up for the MenuQuest newsletter, or to schedule a consultation,contact your John Morrell Food Group Sales Representative.

About John Morrell Food Group

With over a century and a half of experience, John Morrell Food Group brands have become respected and well known for providing premium-quality meat products to families across the United States. With products ranging from lunchmeat and franks to smoked sausage, bacon and pepperoni, the John Morrell Food Group is an important part of consumers' mealtimes. The John Morrell Food Group offers several national and regional brands including Armour®, Eckrich®, John Morrell®, Curly's®, Patrick Cudahy®, Carando®, Healthy Ones®, Margherita® Kretschmar® and LunchMakers®.

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®, Farmland®, Armour®, Cook's®, Gwaltney®, John Morrell®, Kretschmar®, Curly's®, Carando®, Margherita®, and Healthy Ones®. 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 and www.smithfieldcommitments.com.

About Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry Campaign

No child should grow up hungry in America, but one in five children struggles with hunger. Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day. The No Kid Hungry campaign connects kids in need to effective nutrition programs like school breakfast and summer meals and teaches low-income families to cook healthy, affordable meals through Cooking Matters. This work is accomplished through the No Kid Hungry network, made up of private citizens, public officials, nonprofits, business leaders and others providing innovative hunger solutions in their communities. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.

Source: John Morrell Food Group