Hormel Foods Corporation reports it has donated cash and products valued at more than $2 million retail to aid disaster relief in Southern California where wildfires continue to impact communities.

To date, Hormel Foods has donated food products totaling more than 550,000 pounds, including ready-to-eat and shelf-stable products from brands such as Planters, Skippy, Justin’s and Embasa. Frozen and refrigerated products such as Jennie-O Oven Ready whole turkeys, Wholly avocado minis and Columbus meats were also included. Additionally, the Hormel Foods Foodservice division supported restaurant operators in their efforts to provide free meals to first responders and displaced community members.

The Hormel Foods Charitable Trust along with MegaMex Foods — which is headquartered in Orange, California — jointly donated $50,000 to the LA Unified School District Education Foundation's Emergency Relief Fund. These dollars will go toward assisting students, faculty and families affected by the disaster.

"We are devastated by the impact that ongoing wildfires have had across the greater L.A. area," says Katie Clark, senior vice president and chief communications officer at Hormel Foods. "Ensuring that first responders, aid workers and community members in need have access to food, protein and nutrition is an ongoing priority for us. We partnered with Convoy of Hope and local restaurants to ensure the products we donated would be useful right away. We are dedicated to supporting relief efforts in both the short- and long-term as communities restock pantries and rebuild lives."