Sep 1, 2005 12:00 PM

Smithfield Foods Inc and its subsidiary companies are donating truckloads of lunchmeat, ice, and water to help relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The company said its John Morrell, Smithfield Packing Co, and Farmland Foods subsidiaries have started shipping more than 143,000 pounds of lunchmeat to America's Second Harvest food banks in the Baton Rouge LA area.

The donated meat, along with 80,000 pounds of ice and 32,000 16-ounce bottles of water, are being transported in six Smithfield trucks. At three ounces per serving, the lunchmeat will provide approximately 763,000 sandwiches.

Farmland is shipping 38,000 pounds of sliced ham from its Crete NE and Wichita KS processing plants, and more than 32,000 16-ounce bottles of water and about 40,000 pounds of ice from its Kansas City MO facility. John Morrell is shipping 40,000 pounds of lunchmeat from its Sioux Falls SD processing plant and 40,000 pounds of ice from its Cumberland Gap Provision Co facility in Middlesboro KY.

Smithfield Packing Co in Smithfield VA has committed two trailer loads — 65,000 pounds — of lunchmeat.