WESTFIELD, Mass., Dec. 19, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carando®, the artisans of Classic Italian Meats, and Big Y Supermarkets partnered to host a special luncheon to show gratitude for the brave men and women of the 104th Fighter Wing and Army Aviation Support Facility #2 at Barnes Air National Guard Base.
The hundreds of service members in attendance were served a feast of Carando premium dinner hams, green beans, oven roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and cake. During the festive lunch, each military member was also provided with a holiday gift bag.
With one of its production facilities located in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts, Carando has directly seen the displays of valor and selflessness that the men and women of the Massachusetts Air and Army National Guard have made. The brand wanted to share some holiday cheer with its hometown heroes who protect the nation's freedom.
"We can never take for granted all of the sacrifices that our military makes for us," said Michael Paribello, Smithfield Foods senior director of marketing. "We are extremely grateful for partners like Big Y Supermarkets who place the same importance on honoring those who serve. This meal is just our way of saying 'thank you' for all of their dedication to our country."
The meal is part of the ongoing Carando Cares program, an initiative which supports organizations that are making a positive difference in local communities. Since the program’s inception, Carando Cares has made more than $250,000 in monetary and in-kind donations.
For more information about Carando and Carando Cares, please visit www.carando.com or www.Facebook.com/CarandoMeats.
Carando is a brand of Smithfield Foods.
About Carando
All of our classic Italian meats stay true to the traditional recipes that our founder, Pietro Carando, brought to America from his boyhood home in Torino, Italy. One taste is all it takes to discover the authentic Italian difference of Carando. For more information, visit www.carando.com.
About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, EckrichⓇ, Nathan's FamousⓇ, FarmlandⓇ, ArmourⓇ, Farmer John®, KretschmarⓇ, John MorrellⓇ, Cook'sⓇ, GwaltneyⓇ, CarandoⓇ, MargheritaⓇ, Curly'sⓇ, Healthy OnesⓇ, MorlinyⓇ, KrakusⓇ and BerlinkiⓇ. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.
About Big Y Foods, Inc.
Headquartered in Springfield, MA, Big Y is one of the largest independently owned supermarket chains in New England. Proud to be family owned and operated, we operate almost 80 stores throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts with over 11,000 employees. Big Y has been named a 2015 Employer of Choice by the Employers Association of the Northeast. Founded in 1936 by brothers Paul and Gerald D'Amour, the store was named after an intersection in Chicopee, Massachusetts where two roads converge to form a "Y". For more information, visit www.bigy.com or www.facebook.com/bigyworldclassmarket/.
Media Contact:
Hannah Meadors
Breaking Limits for Carando
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Cell: 434-250-4770
E-Mail: hmeadors@breakinglimits.net
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d50ff40-e58a-4270-9f6e-f48b786fa165