During Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month, employees at Smithfield Foods have reportedly collected and donated over 25,0000 pounds of food to those in need.

This amount of food is the equivalent of more than 21,000 meals and will be used to support food banks and hunger relief programmes in Smithfield’s local communities across the US.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 34 million people in the US are food insecure, this includes nine million children.

Feeding America has estimated that approximately one in six people turned to charitable food assistance for additional support in 2022. In fact, in a recent survey it found that 80 percent of network food banks reported either increased or steady demand for emergency food services in June 2023.

With the demand for emergency food now higher than before, donations such as that from Smithfield could play a key part in supporting those facing food insecurity in the US.

“Feeding the hungry is at the core of our philanthropic efforts. Each year, our Smithfield team members demonstrate through our Hunger Action Month food drive that they believe in our mission to fight hunger and food insecurity. It is remarkable to see how passionately they give back to support the communities we call home,” said Jonathan Toms, Senior Community Development Manager for Smithfield Foods.

Also commenting on the donation, Joe Weeden, Senior Director Commodity Foods for Feeding America, said: “We are incredibly thankful to Smithfield and their team members for their generous contributions, both during Hunger Action Month and throughout the year.

“Our efforts to feed our neighbours facing food insecurity would not be possible without our partners like Smithfield. These donations of nonperishable food items, along with Smithfield’s frequent donations of protein, go a long way in helping the Feeding America network address hunger across the country.”