Smithfield, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and Food Network's Paula Deen to Deliver 150,000 Servings of Protein to San Francisco Food Bank

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ --

What:

Smithfield, the United Food and Commercial Workers, Food Network celebrity cook, Paula Deen and volunteers will deliver 150,000 servings of protein to the San Francisco Food Bank.  This donation is a part of their "Feeding The Hungry" coast-to-coast tour, during which 20 million servings of much-needed protein will be delivered and unloaded to food banks around the country.

Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and will be donating more than 20,000 pounds of food that were collected during their Holiday Food Drive to the San Francisco Food Bank.

When:

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

11:30 a.m.

Where:

San Francisco Food Bank

900 Pennsylvania Avenue

San Francisco, California  94107

More Information

Food Banks nationwide are reporting a 25 percent increase in the number of people coming to them for help.  The current recession and the continuing unemployment are having a profound effect on Food Banks' ability to meet the demand.  As a result, food assistance organizations across the country have been reporting over the past year that more individuals and families are turning to them for assistance including more first-time visitors, unemployed workers, employed individuals, seniors and families with children.

Smithfield and the United Food and Commercial Workers will address the need for hunger relief in San Francisco on February 17, and will continue this work across the nation in an effort to donate and deliver more than 1,600,000 pounds of protein, or more than 6,400,000 servings each year, to help families and individuals become more food secure.  

"We want to get as much food as possible to as many needy families as possible," said Paula Deen.  "I feel so grateful that my partners at Smithfield are helping me deliver protein to the pantry."  

"Although Smithfield Foods has long been a supporter of hunger relief initiatives, we felt the need to help shine a spotlight on an ever-increasing problem for American families," said Dennis Pittman, Public Affairs Director, Smithfield.  "Providing hunger relief through our Helping Hungry Homes® initiative will continue to remain a priority."  

"Meat donations are greatly needed for their nutritional value but are often the hardest to come by, making this donation all the more critical for our community," said Leslie Harless Bacho, Deputy Executive Director of the San Francisco Food Bank.  "As more and more families are relying on the Food Bank for assistance, donations like this make it possible to meet the increased demand."

Safeway will be donating more than 20,000 pounds of food that were collected during their Holiday Food Drive to the San Francisco Food Bank.

"The UFCW is committed to ensuring that families across the country have the relief and the opportunities they need to weather the current economic crises," said Joe Hansen, UFCW International President.  "All across the country UFCW members are on the frontlines of efforts to improve and strengthen their communities, and this new partnership reflects their unwavering commitment to protect and advocate for families during tough times.  This partnership is about bringing together organizations with the resources, the relationships and the know-how to ensure that vulnerable communities across the country have access to well-supplied food banks.  Our goal is simple: Get good, nutritious food to as many families, in as many communities, as possible."

"Feeding the Hungry" is one of Smithfield Foods' "Helping Hungry Homes®" initiatives.  "Helping Hungry Homes®" was established to help ensure that American families in need do not go hungry.  Smithfield Foods and its independent operating companies have a long history of stocking food banks, supporting after-school nutrition programs and providing food relief in the wake of natural disasters.

About the San Francisco Food Bank

Hunger is a serious problem in San Francisco – with 1 in 4 children and 1 in 5 adults at risk of hunger. Every day, the San Francisco Food Bank sources, collects, sorts, inspects and repackages thousands of pounds of food, then distributes it to soup kitchens, neighborhood grocery centers, school programs and seniors in need.  The San Francisco Food Bank serves 22,000 households weekly throughout San Francisco and Marin counties, and will distribute 36.5 million pounds of food to the community this year – enough for 78,000 meals every day.  Over half of what is distributed is fresh produce. For more information, visit www.SFFoodBank.org.

About Smithfield  

Smithfield, a name familiar to millions of Americans, is committed to environmental leadership, community involvement, employee safety, animal welfare and high-quality food.  It is seeking to help the people of San Francisco by providing these needed servings of protein.  With sales of $12 billion, Smithfield Foods is the leading processor and marketer of fresh pork and packaged meats in the United States, as well as the largest producer of hogs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About the United Food and Commercial Workers

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) represents more than 1.3 million workers, primarily in the retail and meatpacking, food processing and poultry industries. The UFCW protects the rights of workers and strengthens America's middle class by fighting for health care reform, immigration reform, living wages, retirement security, safe working conditions and the right to unionize so that working men and women and their families can realize the American Dream. For more information about the UFCW's effort to protect workers' rights and strengthen America's middle class, visit www.ufcw.org.

About Safeway www.Safeway.com

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,730 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $44.1 billion in 2008. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY. Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and in 2009 donated more than $250 million to important causes, such as cancer research, education and hunger relief.

More Research Statistics from the San Francisco Food Bank

FOOD WASTE AND HUNGER IN AMERICA BY THE NUMBERS

• Right now, about 38 million Americans do not have enough to eat. That's one out of every eight people. Two out of every three Americans are at risk of not having enough food at some point in their lives.

• 40-50% of all food produced by or imported into the U.S. for the purpose of feeding people is ultimately wasted, totaling approximately 180 billion pounds per year. The USDA has estimated that at least 32 billion pounds of that food waste is recoverable.

• Ending hunger in America would require approximately 12 billion pounds of food per year, but currently only about 2.5 billion pounds of that recoverable food is being saved and used to help needy people.
• It would cost about $4 billion per year to save and distribute enough food to end hunger in America, while not addressing the hunger problem costs an estimated $90 billion per year in additional illnesses, crime, lost productivity, etc.

SOURCE Smithfield Foods