Eckrich, Operation Homefront, and Randalls Food Markets Partner to Honor Military Family

LISLE, Ill., Dec. 14, 2016 -- Eckrich, the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage and savory deli meats, teamed up with Randalls Food Markets and Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, to honor a Cedar Park, Texas military family on Wednesday.

Eckrich and Randalls Surprised the Smith Family with One Year of Free Groceries

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8d12835a-2360-4632-b71a-0227e3971ab3

Eckrich surprised the Smith family at Randalls in Austin, Texas to honor and thank the family for their service. They were presented with a gift of free groceries for a year at Randalls, valued at more than $13,000, courtesy of Eckrich. As part of the event, crowds of shoppers were treated to live country music and samples of delicious Eckrich smoked sausage and deli meat.

Carl Smith served in the US Air Force as a Security Forces Senior Airman for three years and was deployed for six months overseas. His wife, Lacy, is his full-time 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. The family has seven children.

“This is truly a blessing,” said Lacy Smith. “We have nine members in our family and now we can feed everyone, this a tremendous holiday surprise from Eckrich and Randalls.”

The surprise is part of the ongoing campaign by Eckrich to honor, thank and support military families through its partnership with Operation Homefront. Eckrich, in its fifth year of partnership with Operation Homefront, has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization since 2012.

“Eckrich is proud to continue to support military families across the country,” said Jennifer Zmrhal, Smithfield Foods senior director of marketing. “We appreciate the partnership from Randalls and we are honored to present the Smith family with one year of free groceries.”

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 or follow Eckrich on Facebook and Twitter.

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 since 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:
Faye Shroff
Breaking Limits for Eckrich
2137 South Blvd., Suite 200
Charlotte, N.C. 28203
Direct: 704-766-9062
Cell: 704-591-4353
E-Mail: [email protected]