Smithfield Foods Donates $50,000 to Local School Mentorship Program


CRETE, Neb., Aug. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smithfield Foods, Inc. is pleased to announce a continued partnership with TeamMates, a mentoring program serving Crete Middle and High School students in Crete, Nebraska. Smithfield has supported TeamMates for seven consecutive years and has once again donated $50,000 to the program.

"Our community’s youth benefit tremendously from the encouragement and guidance provided by a caring adult during TeamMates programming,” said Zoe White, program director of TeamMates. “We are thrilled to see the positive impact made on students by volunteers from the community, who have dedicated themselves to making a difference in the life of a young person. We have welcomed more than 11 Smithfield mentors over the last seven years and look forward to our continued collective efforts to give back to the Crete community.” 

TeamMates provides support for school-aged youth through their unique mentoring program, with an overarching goal to lead the students to achieve high school graduation and encourage their pursuit of post-secondary education. To reach this goal, youth meet weekly with program mentors, who are community volunteers that have dedicated themselves to making a positive impact in young-adult lives by providing support and guidance.

“Smithfield is honored to continue our commitment to the local community through our long-standing partnership with TeamMates,” said Paul Doremus, general manager of Smithfield’s Crete, Nebraska facility. “We value the mutually beneficial results of this program, as mentoring builds morale, teamwork, and productivity in employees, while helping our youth graduate from high school, pursue post-secondary education, and encouraging them to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.”

Smithfield’s Crete, Nebraska facility was established in 1975 and employs more than 2,100 employees locally. Understanding that supporting education dramatically strengthens communities, Smithfield Foods’ support of this program aligns with the company’s commitment to contribute to the vitality of the communities where its employees live and work.

For more information about Smithfield’s charitable efforts, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com/key-outreach-efforts/smithfield-foundation.

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, and connect with us on FacebookTwitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Diana Souder
dsouder@smithfield.com
(757) 357-1675 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f4c37ea4-e080-4f3e-bad8-f643e75851e3

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