Smithfield Foods Expands Scholarship Program to Include Hampton University Ahead of 2022-2023 School Year

Smithfield Foods, Inc. is pleased to welcome Hampton University to its Smithfield Foods Scholarship Program.
The company’s scholarship program provides eligible dependents of full-time and retired Smithfield employees with up to $7,500 a year in educational scholarships to participating colleges and universities for four years. The need-based program has awarded over 1,300 scholarships totaling $7.6 million since 2002, more than half of which the company has contributed since 2017. 
Hampton University joins the program’s more than a dozen participating colleges and universities across the U.S., including several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The program’s expansion follows Smithfield’s 2020 commitment to add additional HBCUs to its program to ensure a broad range of educational opportunities. Other new institutions include South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, and Virginia State University.
“We are very thankful that Smithfield Foods is adding Hampton University to its company scholarship program which will enable the growth and development of eligible dependents of their employees,” said Dr. William R. Harvey, Hampton University President. “Smithfield Foods recognizes the world-class education that Hampton University offers its students and will now help fund the education of future Hamptonian scholars.”
Smithfield’s philanthropic initiatives span international efforts focused on hunger relief, education and veterans in communities its employees call home.  
“We’re excited to further diversify our longstanding scholarship program and welcome these new schools to our portfolio,” said Jonathan Toms, charitable initiatives manager for Smithfield Foods. “Our scholarship program underscores the responsibility we feel to support our more than 40,000 U.S. team members and their families across America, and our efforts to expand the program reflect our commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in education.” 
Applications for the 2022-2023 school year open in early 2022 and are due May 15, 2022. For additional information on participating schools, academic programs and individual schools’ applications, please visit smithfieldfoods.com/scholarships
About Smithfield Foods, Inc. 
Headquartered in Smithfield, Va. since 1936, Smithfield Foods, Inc. is an American food company with agricultural roots and a global reach. Its 63,000 team members are dedicated to producing “Good food. Responsibly.®” and have made Smithfield one of the world’s leading vertically integrated protein companies. They have pioneered sustainability standards for more than two decades, including their industry-leading commitments to become carbon negative in U.S. company-owned operations and reduce GHG emissions 30 percent across their entire U.S. value chain by 2030. They believe in the power of protein to end food insecurity and have donated hundreds of millions of food servings to communities. Smithfield boasts a portfolio of high-quality iconic brands, such as Smithfield®, Eckrich® and Nathan’s Famous®, among many others. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com, and connect with us on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn and Instagram

About Hampton University:
For more than 150 years Hampton University has been THE Standard of Excellence in higher education. Founded in 1868 by Brig. Gen. Samuel Chapman Armstrong, Hampton University has a long successful history of offering a strong academic program of educating the “head, heart and hand,” and emphasizing the development of character.  This foundation has been built upon by Dr. William R. Harvey, who has served as Hampton’s president for 44 years, during which time the university has experienced accelerated growth and achieved notable accomplishments. During Harvey’s presidency, 92 new programs have been introduced, 31 new structures dot the landscape of the campus surrounded three sides by water, and the university’s endowment has grown from $29 million to $400 million and growing.