Eckrich®, Operation Homefront, and Albertsons Team up to Recognize Local Military Family

DALLAS, Nov. 30, 2017 -- Eckrich^®, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and perfectly seasoned deli meats, surprised a Dallas, Texas military family on Wednesday at the Dallas Mavericks basketball game in partnership with Albertsons and Operation Homefront, to thank them for their service.

Eckrich and Albertsons Surprise the Rodriguez Family with Free Groceries for One Year

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/37f7cfa0-bb90-4f54-8890-c362256ab479.

Eckrich hosted a special presentation for the Rodriguez family on the court during the third quarter break of the game against the Brooklyn Nets and presented the family with a year of free groceries at Albertsons, valued at more than $10,000.

Raymond Rodriguez served in the U.S. Army for seven years as an Infantryman. He was deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and is a recipient of a Purple Heart due to injuries sustained in Iraq. Raymond and his wife, Feliciana, have been together for 22 years and have seven children. Feliciana is his caregiver and a member of Operation Homefront's Hearts of Valor^® program, a network of more than 3,000 caregivers of wounded service members which provides annual retreats, support groups, and online communities.

“This gift of groceries will help our family immensely,” said Raymond Rodriguez. “With seven children groceries are our largest expense, and we can now put that money towards other important bills. We cannot thank Eckrich and Albertsons enough for this special gift.”

The surprise was part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Now in its sixth year, Eckrich has donated more than $3 million to support the organization’s mission of building strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect.

“Eckrich is proud to support military families across the country, and we are grateful for Albertsons’s continued partnership and shared values,” said Michael Baughman, Smithfield Foods director of marketing. “We are inspired by the sacrifices made by the Rodriguez family and we hope this year of free groceries will serve as a sign of our appreciation for all that they do.”

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 $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^®, 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
Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, 92 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America’s military families. For more information, go to www.OperationHomefront.org.

Contact:
Hannah Meadors
Breaking Limits for Eckrich
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Cell: 434-250-4770
Email: [email protected]