Smithfield Foods donated $10,000 and 30,500 pounds of protein to the Lumbee Regional Development Association, Inc. (LRDA), an organization created to provide vital services and resources for the Lumbee Indian communities to improve social and economic conditions in North Carolina.
“Addressing food insecurity in underserved areas is key to advancing vitality in local communities,” said Rhonda Campbell, senior community development manager for Smithfield Foods. “We applaud the Lumbee Regional Development Association for its leadership and commitment to providing North Carolina’s tribal communities with access to critical services and resources that will benefit many lives in the community.”
Donated food items included Smithfield® Power Bites, smoked sausage, lunch meat, bacon, ham, hot dogs, chops, ribs, tenderloins, picnics and ground pork, providing more than 122,000 servings of high-quality, nutritious protein to Lumbee tribe members and neighbors facing food insecurity.
Smithfield’s protein donation was delivered to local nonprofits during a food distribution event on June 29 hosted by LRDA during Lumbee Homecoming in Pembroke, North Carolina. Since 1968, Lumbee Homecoming has been one of the most well-attended American Indian events celebrating the tribe’s heritage, pride and culture.
“Lumbee Regional Development Association is proud to sponsor the 55th Lumbee Homecoming. This year, LRDA is hosting this ‘Helping Hungry Homes’ event in partnership with Smithfield Foods,” said Horace Hunt, chairman of LRDA board of directors. “Our shared mission for this event is to bring awareness to and address food insecurity in our local communities. We have invited local churches and nonprofit organizations to register to serve as distribution sites to place this food in local communities, and we are honored to partner with Smithfield to host this event.”
Smithfield’s hunger relief program, Helping Hungry Homes®, has provided hundreds of millions of servings of protein all 50 U.S. states, as well as in Poland, Romania and Mexico, since 2008. Smithfield donated nearly 28 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts and community outreach programs across the U.S. in 2023 and has pledged to donate 200 million servings of protein by 2025.
For more information about Smithfield’s programs to support local communities, please visit smithfieldfoods.com/helping-communities.
