Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 11/10/09

Smithfield Foods and the United Food and Commercial Workers union have come together over a plan to make a huge donation to Feeding America — The Nation's Food Bank Network.

The donation will amount to almost 20 million servings of protein over three years (at an estimated quarter-pound per serving), the company and the union said in a release. They kicked off the program Monday in the South Bronx with a donation to the Food Bank for New York City, at an event featuring Food Network star (and Smithfield spokeswoman) Paula Deen.

"We went into this joint venture (with the union) because we thought it was the right thing to do. This was a way to make a huge impact, and address an issue we have a common interest in" said Smithfield Public Affairs Director Dennis Pittman, in an interview with Meatingplace.

The partnership is a long-term one for Smithfield and the union. They will work together for the next three years to make good on the donations nationwide. The two parties are splitting the cost evenly.

"The UFCW is committed to ensuring that families across the country have the relief and the opportunities they need to weather the current economic crises," said Joe Hansen, UFCW International President, in the release. "This partnership is about bringing together organizations with the resources, the relationships and the know-how to ensure that vulnerable communities across the country have access to well-supplied food banks."

Furthermore, the company and the union hope their venture spurs others to similar action: "It's something the food industry needs to get involved in. We hope other members of the food and beverage industry will step up," Pittman said.

Food banks' services are getting stretched thin as the unemployment rate has climbed above 10 percent.

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