Nathan's Famous® and KaBOOM!® Celebrate Local Community With Ready. Set. PLAY.™ With Support of Acme Markets Honor Greater Smyrna Clayton Boys & Girls Club With Afternoon of Fun

LISLE, Ill., Sept. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Greater Smyrna Clayton Boys & Girls Club members and surrounding community received a taste of Coney Island this week thanks to Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM!. The world famous hot dog company and national non-profit dedicated to giving kids the play they need to thrive honored the organization by bringing their Ready. Set. PLAY. program to the Smyrna, Del., area. The unique program was created earlier this year by Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! to celebrate balanced and active play and honor the "playmakers" who are making play possible in communities around the country. Acme Markets also stepped in to support the event with a donation of food items to complement the Nathan's hot dogs children and guests enjoyed during the afternoon of fun.

Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! chose to honor the Greater Smyrna Clayton Boys & Girls Club because of their commitment to inspiring and enabling all young people, especially those from disadvantage circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. The club's before and after care programs have a strong emphasis on gross motor skills, as well as healthy eating and enjoying the outdoors and play together.

"We are really proud of our partnership with KaBOOM! and to have the opportunity to create a program like Ready. Set. PLAY." said Mike Paribello, senior director of marketing for the John Morrell Food Group, a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods and licensing partner of Nathan's Famous. "We've had a tremendous amount of fun traveling across the country this year honoring the organizations, such as the Greater Smyrna Clayton Boys & Girls Club, and the schools who are working hard to promote and protect active play for children and their communities. We're also thankful for the support from Acme Markets and are thrilled they could join us for a play-filled afternoon."

"The fundamentals of balanced and active lifestyles begin at home with our parents and in our communities," said KaBOOM! CEO and Founder Darell Hammond. "With support from Nathan's Famous through Ready. Set. PLAY., we are able to bring play opportunities to communities across the nation and inspire kids and families to incorporate play in their everyday lives." 

The fun-filled afternoon included the flavors of Coney Island with delicious Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, carnival-like games, and giveaways. Leading up to this event, youth ages five to 12 years old will have the opportunity to submit an essay about what play means to them and why play matters for all kids. Four winners will be selected at the event and as a prize, will attend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, September 28 at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del.

"We feel both honored and thrilled to be chosen by Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! for the recognition of our commitment to the children of the Smyrna Community," said Trisha Moses, regional operations team leader and executive director, Greater Smyrna Clayton Boys & Girls Club. "We feel this Ready. Set. PLAY. event is an excellent and exciting way to jumpstart the school year. It's through our continued partnerships and support that we are able to offer year-round activities in the areas of academics, sports, and prevention related programs. I would like to extend a very special thanks to Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! for making this special event possible."

For more information, please visit Nathan's Famous and KaBOOM! online.

About Nathan's
Nathan's is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Cayman Islands and nine foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. At June 29, 2014, the Nathan's restaurant system consisted of 311 units, comprised of 306 franchised units and five company-owned units (including one seasonal unit). Nathan's was ranked #55 on the Forbes list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. Last year, over 480 million Nathan's Famous hot dogs were sold. For additional information about Nathan's please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com.

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 KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to the bold new goal of ensuring that all children, particularly the 16 million American children living in poverty, get the balanced and active play they need to thrive. KaBOOM! has been a powerful champion for play since its founding in 1996, working with partners to build, improve and open more than 15,000 playgrounds, engage more than 1,000,000 volunteers and serve more than 6,600,000 children. KaBOOM! creates and catalyzes great places to play, inspires, empowers and leads play advocates, and educates and elevates the societal conversation about the importance of play in children's lives. For more information, visit kaboom.org/act or follow the conversation on why #playmatters at twitter.com/kaboom or facebook.com/kaboom.

About Greater Smyrna Clayton Boys & Girls Club
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware is part of a nationwide movement whose mission is to inspire and enable all young people to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens. The Clubs provide vital youth development services for more than 20,000 children ages six through 20. The 42 Clubs and school sites are conveniently located where such programs are limited or nonexistent. With additional resources, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware could expand into additional un-served areas to serve even more children in need.

About Acme Markets
ACME Markets Inc. began in 1891 when two friends, Samuel Robinson and Robert Crawford, opened a small neighborhood grocery store in South Philadelphia, emphasizing quality products, low prices, and friendly service. Over 123 years later, ACME remains dedicated to providing a high-quality grocery experience that our customers have come to expect.  Today, ACME operates 110 stores, including Sav-On Pharmacies at select locations, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, employing more than 11,000 associates. The company and its associates remain committed to the communities they serve.  For more information visit www.acmemarkets.com

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SOURCE Nathan's Famous