The Smithfield-Luter Foundation is a non-profit organization that acts as the philanthropic wing of Smithfield Foods, Inc. and its chairman, Joseph W. Luter III. The company is dedicated to the continued well-being of its employees and the communities where it is based. As such, the Foundation has focused its giving on education and growth opportunities in rural towns across America.

Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has provided educational scholarships to the dependent children and grandchildren of Smithfield Foods employees. The Foundation’s first partnership was with Joe Luter, III’s alma mater, Wake Forest University. Over the years, we have expanded our scholarship program to include the universities of Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Johnson & Wales, Norfolk State, Virginia Union and Fayetteville State. To date, the Foundation has granted 74 scholarships worth over $800,000.

Recently, the Foundation has begun seeking new partnerships designed to strengthen and nurture the rural towns where the company is located. In 2005, it announced a gift of $5 million to Christopher Newport University, an institution located just a few miles away from the town of Smithfield. In February 2006, the Foundation announced a $5 million gift for cancer research and treatment to the University of Virginia Health System in honor of longtime Smithfield employee Palmer Weber.

The Smithfield-Luter Foundation also funds the national Learners to Leaders alliance. By providing support services to educational institutions and communities through its local programs, the alliance promotes the importance of education and its role in cultivating the skills necessary for individuals to become productive, caring and responsible citizens. For more information about the Learners to Leaders alliance, click here.

Please check back as we continue to look for ways to show our appreciation to local communities.

The Smithfield-Luter Foundation is just one facet of Smithfield Foods’ charitable giving effort. The company and its subsidiaries have many other programs in place in each of their own communities. To learn more about these initiatives, please see Smithfield’s latest annual stewardship report.