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[/media-credit]Farmland brings awareness to hunger relief efforts in Kansas City through partnership
Kansas City, MO (April 21, 2012)—Farmland Foods today announced a partnership with the legendary Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR team. Farmland will appear on the iconic No. 43 Ford Fusion as the primary sponsor in four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events in Chicago, Kansas, Texas and Phoenix.
“Farmland is proud to partner with ‘The King’ and NASCAR’s first family,” said George Richter, President and Chief Operating Officer of Smithfield Foods Pork Group. “Richard Petty Motorsports is an ideal team to help raise awareness of the good work our company is doing.”
Through the partnership, Farmland will bring greater awareness to hunger relief efforts in its hometown of Kansas City. As part of Farmland’s “Bacon a Difference” initiative, Farmland will feature Harvesters—The Community Food Network on the famous No. 43 Ford, unveiled today, for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Kansas Speedway in October.
“Farmland is privileged to showcase our partnership with Harvesters in the fight against hunger when the need for nourishment among Kansas City area residents is at an all-time high,” said Mike Brown, President and Chief Operating Officer of Farmland.
During the “Bacon A Difference” promotion, which runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend (May 26—September 3), Farmland will donate 4.3 cents to Harvesters for each bacon product sold at participating grocery stores in Kansas City. When the No. 43 Ford featuring Farmland and Harvesters returns to the Kansas Speedway for the Sprint Cup Series event in October, Farmland will present Harvesters with a check for no less than $43,000.
“Farmland is just the kind of company we like to call our partner,” indicated Richard Petty, NASCAR legend and co-owner of Richard Petty Motorsports. “We’re excited to have Farmland and Harvesters on the No. 43 Ford at the Kansas Speedway this fall. That’s a victory in itself.”
Farmland’s focus on hunger relief includes a long-standing partnership with Harvesters. In 2011, Farmland donated 1.3 million servings of protein to Harvesters, exceeding Farmland’s goal to provide at least 1 million meals annually to people in need.
“The donations we receive from Farmland through the ‘Bacon A Difference’ partnership will put much needed food on the table for Kansas Citians at a time when one in four children in Missouri and one in five kids in Kansas are at risk of being hungry,” said Harvesters President and Chief Executive Officer Karen Haren. “We’re honored to be the recipient of Farmland’s generous donation and are thrilled to see the No. 43 Ford spread the word about this important cause on the track this fall.”
About Farmland Foods
Farmland Foods, Inc., based in Kansas City, Mo., provides a broad selection of pork products to retail and foodservice customers in the U.S. and abroad across a variety of categories, including bacon, fresh pork, hams, fresh sausage, hot dogs and lunchmeat. Farmland Foods has a large and growing international business, exporting products to more than 60 countries across six continents. Since its founding in 1959, the company has maintained a proud heritage of working side by side with American farm families. Farmland Foods, which reached over $4 billion in sales in 2011, is a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods.
About Harvesters—The Community Food Network
Harvesters is this area’s only food bank and is Feeding America’s 2011 Food Bank of the Year. Serving a 26-county area of northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, Harvesters provides food and related household products to more than 620 not-for-profit agencies including emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, children’s homes and others. Agencies in Harvesters’ network provide food assistance to as many as 66,000 different people each week. Harvesters, which was founded in 1979, is a certified member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, serving all 50 states. For more information, visit www.harvesters.org.
About Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports (www.richardpettymotorsports.com), co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, Andrew Murstein and Douglas Bergeron, fields two teams in competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Aric Almirola pilots the famous No. 43 Ford Fusion with primary partners Smithfield Foods, U.S. Air Force and STP and Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 9 machine with primary partner Stanley and DEWALT. In addition, Michael Annett wheels the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team is headquartered in Concord, N.C.
