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Smithfield Prod recently partnered with Habitat for Humanity and the Foundation "For You" to build "Casa Cristian", a protected house adapted for the needs of five people with severe mental disabilities, not far from the Smithfield Prod plant. On March 19, 38 Smithfield Prod employees, including Smithfield Prod’s chief executive officer and top managers, spent a day on the construction site, working on the first Habitat for Humanity project in Timisoara. Employees volunteered to take part, and received paid time off to participate in the program. 

Mr. Morten Jensen, CEO of Smithfield Prod, worked alongside other colleagues, including the top management team of the sales, quality control, production, logistics, environmental protection and procurement departments. Jensen was very supportive of involvement in social issues for the benefit of the community where the company operates: “At Smithfield Prod we value socially responsible behavior […] and the opportunity, our commitment to get actively engaged in the communities in which we live and do business. It is an honor for Smithfield Prod to help fulfill this project of the Foundation "For You" and Habitat for Humanity.”

Inspired by Prod’s work, Agroalim Group sponsored Project Blitz, to build a house for one family in need. The project was executed in 10 days.  About half of Agroalim branch employees in the city of Cluj volunteered on May 9th on the construction site, helping build the house for the Andronesi family. The Agroalim team proved that they are enthusiastic and committed to social causes.

Agroalim is the Romanian market leader in frozen and refrigerated food distribution; wholly owned by Smithfield Foods.

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Below is a list of Customer Awards won by Farmland Foods, John Morrell and Smithfield over the last year. Congratulations to the companies and their employees!

Farmland
• Progressive Group Alliance - Supplier of the Year at their last conference as a
  group this past March
• Vendor of the year, Evans Food Service, Swartz Creek, MI
• Frosty Acres - 2008 National Branded COP Supplier of the Year Award
• Progressive Group Alliance - 2008 Distributor Choice Supplier of the Year Award
• Answers - 2008 Supplier Best Practices Award
• Sodexo - Vendor of the Year, National Spirit of Progress
• 2008 Center of the Plate Supplier of the Year at Staunton Foods
• Apperts Foodservice - Frozen Food Supplier of the Year
• Merchant's Foodservice 2008 Protein Supplier of the Year
• Pittsburgh Business Times Manufacturer of the Year
• A & W Award of Excellence
• Keck's FS, Millerton, PA. ProGroup. Farmland received
• Center of the Plate Supplier of the Year

John Morrell
• Kroger Indianapolis – Vendor of the Year (Armour Eckrich)

Smithfield Packing
• Farm Fresh – Retailer of the Year FY09 (Smithfield)

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On April 2, after years of anticipation, Prod reopened the Comtim store in Timisoara, an old brand well-known and liked by Romanians. The opening of store, which sells a large variety of fresh, preserved and frozen pork products, made many nostalgic clients and customers very happy. Morten Jensen, Prod CEO said, "We are happy to offer the people of Timisoara the opportunity of buying pork products directly from us - meat produced in Romania, from pigs raised in Romania."

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Sorin Lazar, HR Director Smithfield Ferme, hands award to Magdalena Payer with the HEIDENROSLEIN ASSOCIATION, for planting the largest number of plants in the "association" category.

Sorin Lazar hands award to Dorin Strugariu, With SUCEAVA FORESTRY DEPARTMENT, for planting the largest number of trees in the forestry department category.

Award Recipients

In April, the Romanian Minister of Environment, Nicolae Nemirschi, signed the new partnership convention for 2009 – 2010 national movement “Millions of People, Millions of Trees”. At the signing meeting and ceremony, he stated publicly how much he appreciates the outstanding results acquired by all partners in this initiative. The program plants trees for three months each fall and spring, in an effort to bring forest cover in line with European Union requirements. On the eve of the World Environment Day, we were proud to learn that, since its launch in September 2006 and, the movement registered a record number of plantings at the national level: more than 38,000,000 trees and more than 11,000,000 bushes and plants.

Our operations in Romania have been participating in this program in partnership with the Romanian Ministry for Environment and the Romanian National Environmental Guard, to encourage the planting of trees around the country. Smithfield is a primary sponsor of the program for the third year in a row.

Since its very first edition, the national planting movement was nominated for the best environmental CSR program by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), as part of the international competition “IPRA Golden World Awards”. “Millions of People, Millions of Trees” has also been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme.

In March, the program “Millions of People, Millions of Trees” was nominated for the Best Community Program at the People for People Gala. The Gala is hosted annually by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Association for Community Relations, and all major companies in Romania participate in the event. Back to School, another Smithfield Ferme-sponsored program was nominated, as well, for providing pre-school and primary school pupils in Smithfield communities with supplies and educational materials.

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On March 29, Smithfield Ferme joined pupils from the Masloc School in Timis County, to celebrate the World Water Day. Together with the local leaders and 46 pupils, 10 representatives from Smithfield Ferme celebrated the holiday by inaugurating a water well in the schoolyard, planting 25 lime trees and cleaning the school's park.

“This water well, designed and completed by Smithfield Ferme, will ensure the children’s hygienic access to potable water. This activity at Masloc is part of our long-term strategy to get involved in community efforts where our company is operating” said Bogdan Mihail, General Director of Ferme.

In addition, as part of the national Initiative “Your World! Clean!”, Ferme representatives and pupils cleaned the school park of litter. Students received an educational book about protecting the environment, as well as certificates of participation in the activities, and presents (“green” tools, treats and fruits). They also participated in a special class conducted by the school’s biology department on the importance of water for a healthy diet.

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Inspired by Smithfield Foods’ "Helping Hungry Homes" program in the U.S., Smithfield Prod, the Romanian processing company launched "Food for Souls" in February 2009. The program distributes fresh meats to NGOs caring for disadvantaged families and individuals in Prod’s community – the city of Timisoara and the surrounding area. On March 18, OSKAR Capital acknowledged our Romanian IOC for launching the program that benefits three organizations in Timis County that shelter approximately 100 disadvantaged people. More than a dozen local charities have partnered with Smithfield Prod to distribute pork products to approximately 2,000 people in need.

The prestigious economic journal Capital issues the “OSKAR Weekly Awards” to acknowledge companies and individuals that distinguish themselves through community support activities and social responsibility.

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Smithfield Ferme has recently received an award for its investments at the Strategies for Agriculture Development conference, organized by FinMedia (a press trust) for top performers in agriculture and food industry. The Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development was one of the partners for the event. Ferme was recognized for being the largest investor in Romanian agriculture and the biggest swine grower in the country.

Smithfield Ferme owns 39 IPPC (Integrated Pollution Prevention & Control) certified operational farms in Timiş and Arad counties, in West Romania and another 9 non-populated farms, in the construction or authorization phase, with a total livestock of approximately 40,000 sows producing 650,000 – 700,000 pigs per year. The company operates in more than 30 communes and towns, being the only economic investor in many of the smaller ones. Smithfield Ferme also committed to invest in state-of-the-art non-polluting technologies to store the effluent and use it as organic fertilizer. The investments made to operate the farms in compliance with both local and European regulations have been significant, exceeding 35 million EUR so far.

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Smithfield Prod is proud to support cultural activities in the local community.

Photo from a Smithfield Prod sponsored festival promoting the region’s cultural heritage through traditional folk music and dances.

From April 19-20, 2009 Smithfield Prod sponsored the Sanmihaiu Village and Utvin Village Festivals, a cherished tradition in Romanian villages, celebrated every year on Easter Day. This year, more than 700 people attended this event to enjoy playing traditional music and performing traditional dances.

Three weeks later, on May 10, Smithfield Prod sponsored another festival in Sanmihaiu Roman, which featured competitions in folk music, traditional dances, Romanian poetry, and traditional arts. At its 3rd edition, the festival was highly supported by local cultural institutions and authorities. Smithfield Prod wishes the Sanhihaiu Roman team the best of luck at the county level of the festival contest.

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