Click photos to enlarge

Chef Jeff Henderson and Farmland Foods employees at a March donation event.

To enhance our efforts of raising awareness of hunger issues, we continued our partnership with Chef Jeff Henderson. Chef Jeff, author and Food Network celebrity, found his passion for cooking while incarcerated for drug trafficking. After paying his dues in federal prison, he rose through the ranks of top restaurants in Las Vegas to become the executive chef at the Bellagio. Chef Jeff helped us with two donations this past quarter:

• March 18th – Columbia, MO where Smithfield Foods, Farmland Foods and Premium Standard Farms donated 12,000 pounds of meat (equivalent to 48,000 meals) to the Central Missouri Food Bank. Missouri food pantries are serving 10,000 more families a month, from 80,000 in 2008 to 90,000 families this year.

• March  19th  -  Kansas City, MO where  Farmland Foods and Premium Standard Farms donated another 48,000 servings of meat to Harvesters—The Community Food Network. This is Kansas City's only food bank, which serves as a clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and related household products that have been donated by community and industry sources.

President and CEO Karen Haren said: “On behalf of the nearly 60,000 people we serve every week, Harvesters is very grateful for this sizeable donation of meat products. With so many breadwinners looking for work, thanks to Chef Jeff, Farmland Foods and Premium Standard Farms, hungry families will get some relief and important, nutritious protein."

Chef Jeff also spoke at a fundraiser organized by the Second Harvest of Metrolina in Charlotte, NC to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in the U.S.

In addition, Smithfield Foods sent a truck loaded with 22,000 pounds of meat (88,000 servings) to the Greenville food bank and distribution center of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Click photos to enlarge

Attendees relax and enjoy the Capital Area Foodbank's 6th Annual Blue Jeans Ball in their favorite pair of jeans.

The formal gala provides funds to support outreach programs and generates awareness about the issue of hunger
in our community.

On April 5th the Capital Area Food Bank held its 6th Annual Blue Jeans event, where local chefs showcased special creations and guests participated in silent and live auctions. Smithfield Foods was proud to be one of the sponsors for the fundraising event, which supports the food bank’s outreach programs and generates awareness about the issue of hunger.

The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest, public nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington, D.C. area. Each year the food bank distributes 20 million pounds of food, including 6 million pounds of fresh produce.

Smithfield Foods has been a great supporter of the Capital Area Food Bank, and we donated 55,000 pounds of meat last year, because we understand the dire needs of the local population.  The poverty rate for children below 18 years of age in the District of Columbia is 48.2 percent compared with 36.4 percent nationally.  A staggering number of 200,000 children are at risk of hunger in the Washington, D.C. area – 56,000 in the District alone or 1 in 2 children.