On July 29, with meat products donated by Smithfield Foods, Paula Deen made her third delivery of meat in little over a year to Savannah to aid local food insecure residents.  The Food Network’s top celebrity cook helped deliver 25,000 pounds of protein as part of her partnership with Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes™ Initiative.  Deen launched this program with Smithfield Foods in January 2008 and to date they have provided more than 1.5 million servings of meat to hungry people across the country including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Detroit, Atlanta and more.

Deen and her family, along with volunteers from the local America’s Second Harvest food bank, unloaded cases of protein for food insecure families in Savannah. She had a big smile on her face as she flung a ham from the back of a Smithfield Foods truck.

"This is my favorite part, y'all," Savannah's celebrity chef said. "Tossin' hams."

She also announced additional food donations scheduled for Knoxville and Boston in the coming weeks. “For some reason folks don’t associate hunger with summer,” Deen said. “Unfortunately hunger doesn’t take a vacation. I feel so grateful that my partners at Smithfield Foods are as concerned as I am about America’s hungry.  Together we are committed to drop by food banks across the country and do what we can to alleviate this burden from families in need.”

Smithfield Foods’ Helping Hungry Homes™ initiative 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.

“Although Smithfield Foods has long been a supporter of hunger relief initiatives, we felt it was important to help families get through the summer months,” said Chad Baker, Senior Vice President Retail Brands for Smithfield Foods. “It’s so easy to forget about this critical issue this time of year with most of us focused on warm weather activities and taking life easier. We need to remind everyone that hunger relief is a year round problem that requires our devotion and commitment.”

America’s Second Harvest, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization with 205 food bank members nationwide, assisted with the coordination of food distribution at each of the tour stops.

“This donation couldn’t come at a better time. Meat donations are greatly needed but are often the hardest to come by, making this donation all the more critical for our community,” said Mary Jane Crouch, executive director of America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. “Savannah families in need will be able to sit down to a nutritious meal thanks to the efforts of Smithfield Foods and Paula Deen.”

Paula Deen also presented a Smithfield Foods donation of 25,000 lbs. on August 27th, at Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee on Thursday, thus continuing out mission to help stamp out hunger.
  
"How in the world in America can hunger be a problem?" Deen asked. "We are the richest country in the world. We cannot let hunger cause us to fall," she said.