ATLANTA -- Celebrity chef Paula Deen was hit in the face with a flying ham Monday while helping out Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless.

Deen and Smithfield Foods wanted to make sure the homeless had food for Thanksgiving so the Food Network star was on hand to donate and deliver 25,000 pounds of protein to Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless Monday morning.

The donation is part of the Smithfield Foods' Helping Hungry Homes initiative, which was established to help ensure that American families in need do not go hungry.

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SLIDESHOW: Paula Deen Gets Hit With Ham
WATCH: Flying Ham Hits Paula Deen
SLIDESHOW: Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless
DONATE: Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless

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Channel 2 Action News reporter Jeff Dore was there as Deen and organizer Elisabeth Omilami helped pass hams down a relay line.

Dore said Deen playfully threw one down the relay line like a football and someone said "Back at ya!" and threw it back. It hit her in the nose.

"He threw the ham back and I was unexpecting the pig and it just hit me full on," said Deen. "'Bout knocked me for a loop!"

Dore said Deen laughed after she got an ice pack for her face and made jokes about a swollen nose.

"It just got hit with a hog, so what can I expect," she sniffed. "Ran head on into a hog."

Deen said her nose wasn't broken and the ice helped keep the swelling to a minimum.

Deen, known for her Southern cuisine, is a celebrity spokeswoman for Smithfield foods.

CLICK HERE to donate items to the Hosea Feed The Hungry & Homeless organization.