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. 

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! 

Close to 100 representatives of Smithfield Foods, John Morrell, Smithfield Packing Company, Farmland Foods, and Murphy-Brown, along with invited guests, attended this year’s program. Ian Olson, director of sustainability for Darden Restaurants, was the keynote speaker.

This year’s theme was “Our Commitments,” which reflected environmental management initiatives that altogether resulted in approximately the following:

• 128 million gallons of water saved

• 17,402,247 kwhs of electricity conserved

• 109,868 decatherms of natural gas not used

• 2,336 tons of solid waste materials not landfilled

• 3,397 tons of additional cardboard recycling

• 166,365 gallons of diesel fuel not used

A total of 168 projects were submitted, resulting in an annual cost savings of over $13 million that only required $5 million in capital expenditures. One President’s Award and 10 Environmental Excellence Awards were presented in a wide range of project categories representing Smithfield Foods’ strong commitment to sustainability.

The President’s Award was given to Don Butler and Rhonda Campbell, two employees of Smithfield’s hog production subsidiary, Murphy-Brown, LLC. These two employees produced a video series entitled “Taking the Mystery Out of Pork Production,” which is available at www.takingoutthemystery.com. As the first publicly available footage of its kind in the pork industry, the documentary series provides an inside view of the pork production process, from farrow to finish To date, the series has nearly 30,000 views, and it was awarded two Telly Awards this past year.

Brian Paulsen of Premium Standard Farms was selected as this year’s “Zero Hero” for his work addressing regulatory compliance while integrating a revolutionary odor management technology in Missouri as part of an agreement with the state.

“These accomplishments reflect our employees’ commitment to our proactive corporate social responsibility program that is working at every level of our company,” said Bill Gill, assistant vice president for environmental affairs.

Dennis Treacy, Smithfield’s senior vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer, added, “Our award recipients have achieved meaningful reductions in our environmental impact and deserve to be recognized for their hard work and innovation. Cost savings are great, but improving our processes will help preserve the environment for future generations, and that’s something to strive for.”

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.

Here are some highlights of the events sponsored:

• Animex sponsored events at eight different locations which included over 350 participants.
• The Farmland Monmouth plant has participated every year, and this year (as in years past) they sponsored two events at local middle/junior high schools.
• The John Morrell/Armour-Eckrich plant in Junction City had a program for over 20 teachers and 80 kids! They had a water-monitoring station, a water analysis station, a leaf rubbing station, a nature station, and an environmental scavenger hunt. All this was followed by grilling out some of their product and handing out WWMD t-shirts.

Thanks to Ferme, AgriPlus, Animex, Stefano’s, Murphy-Brown, Smithfield Packing, Farmland, and John Morrell for sponsoring events this year. We think it was a great success, and look forward to next year’s sampling.

Three President’s Awards and eleven Environmental Excellence Awards were presented for a wide range of projects addressing Processes/Packaging, Resource Conservation, Pollution Prevention, and Environmental Management. Environmental Excellence Awards are given to specific people (or a team of people), and a President’s award is given when the project was the combined effort of too many folks to name. In total, over 137 projects were submitted.

In combination, the projects submitted resulted in a savings as follows:

• 378 million gallons of water
• 138,044 decatherms of natural gas
• 5,014,193 kWhs of electricity
• 34,689 tons of solid waste materials
• 1,575 tons of additional cardboard recycling
• 65,900 gallons of diesel fuel
• 15,000 trees planted

All the above was realized at a capital expenditure of $10.5 million and an annual cost reduction of $9.94 million.

The awards also resulted in donations to many charities, including Ronald McDonald House, National FFA, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and more.

Carter Hanson of the John Morrell Patrick Cudahy facility in Cudahy, Wisconsin, was selected as this year’s “Zero Hero.” Carter was recognized for his preparedness and ongoing management of the environmental issues that were encountered as part of the fire that took place at the Cudahy facility in July of 2009.

“These kinds of results and cost reductions are the product of a corporate social responsibility program that is embedded throughout the company and supported at all levels,” noted Bill Gill, assistant vice president for environmental affairs. Dennis Treacy agreed, adding that “All those receiving awards and submitting projects are to be congratulated on the efforts and results they bring to the company year after year.”

Please direct any questions or comments regarding the Awards program to Robert ‘Buddy’ Harris (robertharris@smithfieldfoods.com).