Eckrich, Operation Homefront and Albertsons Honor Military Family

LISLE, Ill., Sept. 02, 2016 -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, partnered with Albertsons and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a Texas military family Thursday morning.

Debiak Family Surprised with One Year of FREE Groceries

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cd72796f-2ac0-4bd0-b3ec-e6a5fb345634.

Eckrich hosted a special presentation for the Debiak family at the Albertsons headquarters in Ft. Worth, Tex., where they surprised them with one year of free groceries, valued at over $13,000, at Albertsons.  The family was also presented with tickets to the Alabama versus University of Southern California college football game where they will be VIP guests of Eckrich.

Staff Sergeant Joshua Debiak joined the United States Marnie Corps in 1999 as an infantryman.  He completed three combat tours and two deployments on a ship.  He was honorably discharged in 2012.  His wife, Brianne, is his full-time caregiver and a member of Operation Homefront’s Hearts of Valor^® program, a network of nearly 3,000 caregivers for wounded, ill or injured service members.  The couple has three children.    

"We're so blessed to receive a check for one year of free groceries from Albertsons and Eckrich," said Brianne Debaik. "It means the world to our family to know there are organizations recognizing and standing by military service members, even after they return from duty."

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront.  The Debiak family is supported by Operation Homefront’s Hearts of Valor^® program, which provides caregivers annual retreats, support groups and online communities.

Thursday’s event is also part of the Eckrich Road to the National Championship program where one military family will be honored at 13 of the biggest college football games of the year.  Eckrich, now in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has already donated more than $2.5 million since 2012.

“Eckrich is excited to kick off our college football program this weekend and we are proud to honor a deserving military family as part of this program,” said Jennifer Zmrhal, Senior Director, Marketing, Smithfield Foods. “We are pleased to thank the Debiak family for their service in partnership with Albertsons.”
                                                          
For more information about Eckrich, please visit www.eckrich.com or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.

Eckrich is a brand of Smithfield Foods.

About Eckrich
Founded by Peter Eckrich in 1894, Eckrich has a rich heritage starting from a small meat market in Fort Wayne, Ind. Through it all, Eckrich meats have been recognized for their great taste and supreme quality, craftsmanship, care and pride. For more information, visit www.eckrich.com.

About Smithfield Foods
Smithfield Foods is a $14 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®, John Morrell®, Cook's®, Kretschmar®, Gwaltney®, Curly's®, Margherita®, Carando®, Healthy Ones®, Krakus®, Morliny®, 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 Operation Homefront
A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront builds strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. With more than 3,200 volunteers nationwide, Operation Homefront has provided assistance to tens of thousands of military families its inception shortly after 9/11. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront's expenditures go directly to programs that provide support to our military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.net.

Contact:
Jeff Dennison
Breaking Limits for Eckrich
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Direct: 704-766-9061
Cell: 704-252-3356
E-Mail: [email protected]