Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes ™ Tour Updates:

Hey Y'all! Well, we did it! The Helping Hungry Homes tour reached its final destination Friday March 21st in Detroit, Michigan. My wonderful husband Michael and my darling son Bobby delivered more than 42,000 pounds of ham, bacon and hot dogs to the Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.

More than 1 million people use Michigan's food bank annually, and 34 percent of them are children under 18 years old. Gleaners Community Food Bank is the third-oldest food bank in the United States and since 1977, has gone from distributing one to two million pounds of food each year to almost 25 million pounds of food a year. That is equivalent to 65,000 meals a day! Statistics like these are what prompted me and Smithfield Foods to kick off the Helping Hungry Homes campaign tour across the country.

Now, I couldn't have done this without the people at Smithfield Foods, so to everyone at Smithfield Foods, I must say thank you for a job well done. To the countless volunteers who unloaded trucks and stocked meat, your help means more than you will ever know! To the media, a very special thank you for getting our message out there. They say knowledge is power, and the media coverage we received in every city will hopefully shed some much-needed light on this country’s growing problem.

Since this campaign tour started, I have received hundreds of letters, e-mail wanting to know how you can help. It’s very simple GIVE! Give to your local food bank. Give whatever you can spare. The fight against hunger doesn’t end here, and it shouldn’t end here. Let’s say this is just the beginning and continue the fight together. Help me by helping others. Until next time, I send y’all love and hope from my family to yours!

Paula Deen

The press release for Detroit can be downloaded in PDF format here

On March 4th, Michael & I headed to Washington D.C. with a truck that carried more than 30,000 pounds of meat products from Smithfield Foods.

Besides being our Nation’s capital, Washington also boasts something else. The poverty rate for school children ages 5 to 17 is 51.3% in the District of Columbia. That’s the highest in the nation! Michael & I, along with volunteers from Smithfield Foods presented Capital Area Foodbank with our delivery, and they couldn’t have been happier!

From there, we went to Kids Cafe, a national program from America’s Second Harvest that provides free meals to low-income children at the community centers where children gather after school.

The Kids Cafe program provides much-needed food for children who may not get to eat dinner. At this particular Kids Cafe, a woman by the name of Ms. Ross cooks dinner for 15 children each evening (and even takes them on field trips on Saturday). Now, Ms. Ross has been cooking here for over 8 years using only hot plates and a crock-pot. She finally received a stove in the last two months.

So, I decided to give Ms. Ross the night off from cooking. I brought my Smithfield Honey Glazed Spiral Sliced Ham, mac & cheese, biscuits and cookies so Ms. Ross wouldn’t have to cook. To look in a hungry child’s eyes as they eat is as close to home as it gets. Spending time with Ms. Ross and these children was truly an experience I will never forget!

Y’all, we have one stop left. Our tour is about to end, but hunger will unfortunately continue. I can’t say it enough; support your local food bank. Help those who cannot help themselves. I promise, you’ll walk a little taller, and sleep a little better knowing you did what you could for someone else. Until our final stop, I send y’all love and best dishes!

Paula

The press release for Washington, D.C. can be downloaded in PDF format here

August 29, 2005 was the date Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Since then, the country has seen the perseverance of this city’s residents and the hard work that has been part of re-building one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen.

Making this city a stop on our Helping Hungry Homes tour was, for me, a necessity. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 43 percent of children up to age 5, and a little over 19 percent of adults 65 and older live in poverty.

So, February 27th, Michael & I helped the staff at The Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana unload more than 39,000 pounds of meat to help feed local families.

Y’all, we had a very special person help us on this day. A rising star named Chef Jeff Henderson joined us at the Food Bank to lend a helping hand, which was much appreciated! In case y’all don’t know the name, Jeff Henderson is a man who spent nearly ten years in prison, turned his life around in prison and became a star chef. I was so proud to be there with him and to be in this city that I have loved for so many years.

We are nearing the end of the tour y'all. Only two stops left. Until the next city, I send y’all love and best dishes!

The press release for New Orleans can be downloaded in PDF format here

Hey y’all! Monday, Michael, Jamie, Bobby and I were in Chicago to visit the Greater Chicago Food Depository. We, along with Smithfield Foods, delivered over 30,000 pounds of ham and hot dogs.

Now, as y’all may know, the goal of this tour is to provide one million servings of meat to the nation’s hungry families. In Chicago alone, nearly half a million people each year rely on emergency and supplemental food provided by the Food Depository, the city’s food bank.

Now, y’all know how much I love surprising people, so we paid a surprise visit to the students at Chicago’s Community Kitchens, a Food Depository training program that prepares unemployed and underemployed adults for foodservice industry jobs through a 12-week course.

Hard work in a hot kitchen was how it all began for me, and I wanted so much to have a chance to visit with the students who are working just as hard to provide for their families.

Y’all, we’re coming up on the home stretch. We only have 3 more stops on the tour, so until the next city, I send y’all love and best dishes!

The press release for Chicago can be downloaded in PDF format here

Hey Y’all!

Harvesters Community Food Bank, in Kansas City, Missouri, was the sixth stop on our Helping Hungry Homes tour. Harvesters Community Food Bank provides food for nearly 60,000 people every week in the metropolitan Kansas City area. In this area alone, 43 percent of people receiving emergency food assistance are children, and the mere thought of a child going to bed hungry is more than I can bear.

Jamie and Bobby were on hand to help Harvesters’ staff unload more than 25,000 pounds of Farmland Foods products including ham, bacon, breakfast sausage, hot dogs and lunchmeat.

Now, if y’all are wondering who Farmland Foods are, they are an independent operating company of Smithfield Foods and they are headquartered in Kansas City. When they heard about the tour, they were eager to lend a helping hand and get involved. That’s what is making this tour so successful, helping hands!

If y’all want to lend your helping hands, please call your local food bank. Remember, charity begins at home. Go to your local food bank, or even your local church, and ask what you can do to help. Until the next city stop, I send y’all love from my kitchen to yours!

The press release for Kansas City can be downloaded in PDF format here

Hey Y’all!

Yesterday was a great day! Wednesday Michael and I helped unload over 30,000 pounds of Paula Deen Smithfield Crunchy Glazed Spiral Sliced Hams and Gwaltney Smoked Skinless Shankless Hams. This delivery was received by the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and will be distributed to food pantries, soup kitchens and community centers throughout Los Angeles County.

I told y’all this tour was going across the country and I meant it! Throughout Los Angeles County alone, nearly 1 in every 10 people is at risk of hunger, with children and the elderly being the most affected. Imagine being a child and not understanding why there’s no food to eat. Better yet, imagine reaching your golden years and worrying where your next meal is coming from. I can’t imagine, or decide, which scenario is worse?

Now, by the grace of God, I have never gone hungry, nor have my children. But y’all let me tell you, I’ve been dangerously close. So close in fact I could smell it! It was not a good place to be and if I can do something to help another soul who may very well be in that position, I feel I must help. I encourage everyone to help in any way possible by donating to your local food bank. Remember, there but for the grace of God go I.

Paula Deen

The press release for Los Angeles can be downloaded in PDF format here

Hey Y’all!

Atlanta was a wonderful stop on our Helping Hungry Homes tour! Jamie and Bobby made the day trip to Atlanta to help deliver more than 13,000 pounds of ham, sausages and lunch meats contributed by our partner in this endeavor, Smithfield Foods. All grown up and they’re still delivering food, except this time around my wonderful boys are helping those who can’t help themselves right now!

Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless is a major food resource for thousands of homeless and working poor people throughout the state of Georgia. Founded in 1971 by Hosea and Juanita Williams, HFTH has distributed over 3 million tons of food! About 21 percent of Georgia’s children live in poverty- that is more than 480,000 children under the age of 18. Statistics like this one put a fire under my family and me to do something.

When we heard that Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless has been providing food, clothing and other critical services to families in Georgia for over 37 years, we knew Atlanta had to be a stop on this tour.

The goal of the tour is to provide one million servings of meat to the nation’s working hungry families. With 4 cities under our belt, we have 6 cities left. I think we just might make it!

The press release for Atlanta can be downloaded in PDF format here

Hey y’all! Well, another city is under our belt. Jamie and Bobby hit the Big Apple Friday, January 25th with Smithfield Foods. I wish I could have been there! Together they delivered more than 19,000 pounds of meat products, including lunchmeat, smoked sausage and hot dogs to The Food Bank For New York City.

Y’all, this particular food bank is the major supplier of food for 1.3 million New Yorkers through its network of more than 1,000 emergency and community food programs throughout the five boroughs. These food programs consist of soup kitchen, food pantries, shelters, low-income day care centers, Kids Café and senior, youth and rehabilitation centers. That’s a lot of mouths to feed! Now listen to this statistic; More than 1.3 million New Yorkers throughout the five boroughs depends on emergency food programs. My family and I feel so blessed to be able to do this with the help of such a wonderful company like Smithfield Foods.

Our next stop is Atlanta, Georgia! As always, my family sends y’all love and best dishes from our kitchen to yours!

The press release for New York can be downloaded in PDF format here

My darling husband Michael made a stop in Philadelphia, PA. He, along with Bill Clark, executive director of Philabundance, helped unload the Smithfield truck. Thank goodness they had some help! Christine Eppstein from Smithfield Foods, and about 50 student volunteers from two local charter schools helped Michael and Bill unload the hotdogs and smoked sausages that were delivered. In Philadelphia, 1 out of every 3 children lives at or below the federal poverty level. I just find that statistic heartbreaking. Now, with Philadelphia served, it’s on to the next city. I’ll keep y’all posted!

The press release for Philadelphia can be downloaded in PDF format here

As y’all probably know by now, we've kicked off a campaign to help hungry homes across the country. The number of working hungry families in our very own country is just staggering! So, my family and I, along with the wonderful people at Smithfield Foods, are visiting 10 cities across the country and delivering some much needed protein. 500 Smithfield Paula Deen hams, donated generously from Smithfield Foods, were unloaded in my hometown of Savannah, GA at America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia. Almost 100 volunteers came out EARLY to help unload the truck. Good Morning America came to town to help us spread the word and I think we got off to a wonderful start!

The press release for Savannah can be downloaded in PDF format here

Here are some pictures we took while we were there.