Lizzy Alfs

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Calling all Nashville SPAM fans.

Hormel is bringing its iconic canned meat product to Music City next week via a food truck that’s rolling across the country to promote the 79-year-old brand that gained notoriety during World War II.

In its second year, the SPAMERICAN Tour is bringing a SPAM-themed food truck to 16 U.S. communities, with a Fort Campbell stop set for June 3 and the Nashville visit planned for June 9-12 to correspond with the CMA Music Festival.

The truck will be parked downtown during the four-day music event and will serve complimentary recipe samples made with the precooked ham product, including a biscuits and gravy recipe developed by Food Network star Sunny Anderson.

SPAM also is partnering with Operation Gratitude this year and pledging a $1 donation to the nonprofit’s letter-writing campaign for every letter written in-market and online at SPAM.com. Operation Gratitude sends care packages to U.S. troops.

"As a host and passionate foodie who likes to experiment with taste and flavor, I've long been a fan of the creative possibilities that come from working with SPAM products. My recipe, Operation SPAM Gravy with Biscuits, was inspired by my Southern heritage and military brat roots, and I think it really captures the spirit of this year's SPAMERICAN Tour," Anderson said in a statement. "As an Air Force veteran, it means a lot to team up with Operation Gratitude's mission, offering thousands of people the opportunity to send notes of support and appreciation to the brave men and women who serve our country."

Chattanooga chef Nathan Flynt of 2 Sons Kitchen and Market will be stationed at the truck 12-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, serving his own SPAM-themed creation sandwich. Flynt’s dish is a SPAM Banh mi with smoked mayo, SPAM Classic, smoked pork, carrot salad and cilantro on a French baguette, according to SPAM’s website.

The SPAMERICAN Tour includes partnerships with local chefs in each community.

First introduced in 1937, more than 100 million pounds of SPAM product was shipped abroad to feed troops during World War II, according to the SPAM website. The product remains very popular in Hawaii, where 7 million cans of SPAM products are consumed every year.

The SPAM website lists six ingredients in the product: pork with ham, salt, water, potato starch, sugar and sodium nitrite.

On Tuesday, SPAM was recruiting Nashville SPAM fans to comment on the brand’s Facebook page to win a visit at home or work from the SPAM team. The post had 135 comments as of Wednesday afternoon.

The first-ever SPAMERICAN Tour in 2015 covered 12 cities in three months.

Reach Lizzy Alfs at 615-726-5948 and on Twitter @lizzyalfs.