On Friday, Aric Almirola and Richard Petty joined the Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes initiative to deliver 120,000 servings of protein for hungry Florida families through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Aric and Richard also met up with fans at the Smithfield tent where they signed autographs, snapped photos and offered up a chance to win various prizes.

We’re honored to be part of such a dedicated and outgoing team and thank Richard and Aric for their effort to help alleviate hunger in central Florida.

So, be sure to tune in tonight and cheer on the RPM team and hopefully see Aric leading the pack when the checkered flag flies!

“We’ve traveled from Miami, Florida, to Anchorage, Alaska, bringing much needed protein to wonderful food assistance organizations, and we have just made our 100th tour donation,” said Dennis Pittman, Smithfield-Packing’s’ public affairs director. “Our Smithfield trucks have traveled to help families who’ve experienced tornado devastation in Joplin, Missouri, floods in Vermont and the recent hurricane in Delaware. It is heartwarming when we hear over and over again how much a food donation means to people. We’re eager to continue the fight against hunger and raising awareness coast-to-coast.”

Helping Hungry Homes is a Smithfield Foods initiative started in 2008 with a goal of helping to feed food insecure families in our nation. 

We’re thrilled for the opportunity to support a team as esteemed and storied as Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM). Richard Petty and the no. 43 bring us back to NASCAR’s roots and represent everything we love about the sport today.

Perhaps one of the family’s most distinctive trademarks is the infamous ‘Petty Blue’ that made its debut at the first Daytona 500 in 1959.

RPM just revealed the no. 43 paint scheme for this year’s 500 and traditions were anything but lost in the wind. The no. 43 Ford, now piloted by Aric Almirola, will be punctuated with the same paint that circled Daytona more than 50 years ago.

At Smithfield we too know the value in keeping with strong tradition. From one family to yours, here’s to a great 2012 Sprint Cup season for RPM!

Aric was recently named as driver of RPM’s infamous No. 43 Ford and will make his Sprint Cup debut at Daytona. “I’m looking forward to representing the Smithfield brands,” Aric said. “They have some great things planned and I am happy to be a part of it.”

The Petty organization meshes well with our core values at Smithfield so this partnership arises as a very natural fit. “The Petty’s stand firmly for family values and demonstrate a strong regard and enthusiasm for helping others, which is something we’re thrilled to be a part of,” said C. Larry Pope, our president and chief executive officer. “We’re excited to explore the many  possibilities in which we can give back through Helping Hungry Homes,^® our initiative focused on alleviating hunger across America.” In fact, Helping Hungry Homes^® will be Smithfield’s featured brand for the Daytona 500.

We’re all revved up to be on the track with such a great team! 

The hour discussion is an opportunity to talk about the current state of hunger in America, share personal stories, and brainstorm how both companies and individuals can be involved in solving the problem.

We encourage you to submit questions you would like to see addressed in the discussion and to share any personal stories about the effects of hunger with us this week leading up to the event.

To participate, follow @SmithfieldCSR on Twitter and tweet using #SFDHunger. Those of you unable to make this event are encouraged to submit your questions using the interactive Q & A function on this site found here or check out how we are already involved in hunger relief here. 

Looking forward to the discussion! 

Smithfield donated six truckloads of product as it joined Roker, the TODAY show crew, and other sponsors in Anchorage, Alaska; Las Vegas, Nevada; Houston, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; and Charleston, West Virginia. Lend a Hand Today benefits charities across the country and features corporate donors on live daily segments.

This year was Lend a Hand Today’s biggest yet, with over $9 million donated in cash and products. Recipients included AK Today, providing a positive after-school environment for children in Anchorage; the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas, a training program to help the unemployed gain skills in the hospitality industry; Casa de Esperanza, providing shelter for youth in crisis in Houston; Community Kitchens, offering a hot meal for those in need in Birmingham, and the Covenant House, working to prevent homelessness in Charleston.

Helping Hungry Homes supports families facing food insecurity issues through food banks, school nutrition programs, disaster relief, and community outreach. Check out one of our TODAY show segments here, and go to www.today.com to find more clips from the week.

Farmland Foods, Premium Standard Farms, and Murphy-Brown in Missouri joined with the Smithfield Packing Company in Virginia to volunteer, financially support local relief organizations, and donate food and supplies.

• Smithfield Packing donated an entire truckload of meat products.
• Farmland Foods partnered with Wal-Mart in providing 500 $50 gift cards to Joplin families and donated $15,000 to the American Red Cross to support local efforts.
• Murphy-Brown donated two pallets of supplies, and employees cooked 1,000 pork burgers from the Missouri Pork Producers Association to feed emergency personnel and volunteers.
• Murphy-Brown also donated $1,500 to the American Red Cross, $1,500 to the Joplin Area YMCA Childcare Relief Fund, and $2,000 to local volunteer workgroups for supplies and food.
• Premium Standard Farms aided in the clean-up effort and donated pork to a local grassroots organization that volunteered to cook for residents.
• All four businesses worked with the Joplin YMCA to provide free daycare service to tornado victims.

“This was a terrible tragedy, but the selflessness and generosity of many people and businesses has helped Joplin become stronger than ever,” said Larry Pope, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods.

During the first week of June, Animex donated over 30,000 servings of protein, mainly canned meat products and pates. Servings of meat were delivered from every Animex plant producing such products to the Polish Food Banks Federation for distribution.

We admire the strength and courage of families affected by the floods and are happy to help them persevere in the midst of such a difficult obstacle.