Hot dog brand Nathan's Famous recently joined Kroger at its On the Rhine Eatery in downtown Cincinnati to celebrate National Hot Dog Day by distributing free beef franks to consumers and making a largescale protein contribution to the Freestore Foodbank. The festivities comprised of a donation presentation, giveaways and interactive games.

Professional competitive eater Joey Chestnut also made a guest appearance to share his love of the nostalgic summertime dish and celebrate his recent victory with fellow hot dog enthusiasts during a meet and greet. On July 4, the beef frank connoisseur went on to win his 14th Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, breaking his own record and consuming 76 hot dogs within 10 minutes.

Additionally, Nathan's Famous teamed up with Kroger to support the local community through a donation of more than 40,000 pounds of protein to the Freestore Foodbank. This is the equivalent of more than 160,000 servings of protein, which is one of the most valuable resources the food bank distributes. Throughout the past year, Freestore Foodbank mobilized to meet the greatest need for food they've ever seen and until the economy recovers, this demand will continue. Nathan's Famous is proud to supply essential protein to the community and join in the food bank's mission to improve lives by eliminating hunger.

"Even though the country is starting to reopen, food banks have had their doors wide open since the pandemic began. Nathan's Famous is honored to provide this donation to feed the community and lift up the Freestore Foodbank for its tireless work this past year," said Tim Zimmer, chief marketing officer at Smithfield Foods.

The donation is part of Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes initiative, which was created in 2008 to fight hunger and food insecurity in local communities across the country. Since then, the company has donated more than 215 million servings of protein to food banks, community outreach programs, and disaster-relief efforts in all 50 states.