Courtney Crowder

ccrowder@dmreg.com

Hy-Vee’s old jingle — the place for “a helpful smile in every aisle” — may have to be retired for a new celebrity endorsement.

Actor, producer and all-around Hollywood hyphenate Mark Wahlberg called the West Des Moines-based corporation “one of the greatest supermarket chains in our country” during a Monday press conference held before a screening of his new movie “Patriots Day,” which opens nationwide Friday.

In addition to the film showing, Wahlberg made a point to visit the families of fallen Urbandale police Officer Justin Martin and Des Moines police Sgt. Anthony "Tony" Beminio, who were killed 20 minutes apart Nov. 2 while each sat in their patrol cars.

Full coverage: Remembering fallen Des Moines-area officers

Wahlberg said he wanted to personally thank the officers’ families as well as express his condolences for their losses. In a way, the actor added, “Patriots Day,” the story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and injured 264, is a “tribute to law enforcement and anyone who commits to serving their community and country.”

The film's "message of love continuing to be victorious and people coming together and inspiring people to stand up for what is right, that's very important and needs to be seen and heard by everybody," he said.

"Regardless of how much hope and inspiration people find (in the movie), it is still reenacting the worst day of a lot of people’s lives," he continued. "And then sitting there and meeting people here today who have dealt with loss pretty recently, and especially parents and spouses and children, it is never easy, but to know that we didn’t forget and to honor them in the way that they should (be) is extremely important."

About 800 people, including a large contingent of firefighters, police officers and first responders, enjoyed dinner and classic movie snacks in a large ballroom at Hy-Vee’s West Des Moines headquarters before the screening.

The invite-only event was a fundraiser for Hy-Vee Homefront, an initiative comprising several company efforts, including fundraising campaigns, veterans and military member employee recruitment and other activities that honor heroes throughout the Midwest, according to the company.

The funds from Monday’s event will benefit the American Red Cross, Hope for the Warriors, Operation First Response and the Puppy Jake Foundation, which trains service dogs to help military veterans with physical or emotional trauma.

“The Hy-Vee Homefront program is so important to us being able to continue our work,” said Puppy Jake CEO Becky Beach. “We receive thousands of dollars from them, and to have someone like Mark Wahlberg donate his time to help us, it means so much. It is just unbelievable.”

Mark Wahlberg to promote new film at Hy-Vee fundraiser

The actor was also in town to officially launch Performance Inspired Nutrition, his brand of fitness supplements, which Hy-Vee will carry exclusively for the Midwestern region starting in March.

While Hy-Vee has featured brands and marketing campaigns around celebrities with local ties before, Wahlberg’s product will mark the first Hollywood star to do business directly with the grocery chain.

But CEO Randy Edeker said customers shouldn’t expect to see a rash of celebrity-endorsed products popping up throughout stores.

“Mark is someone who has a passion for fitness and for helping people achieve in a different direction, so that is really what led us to him,” he said. “We have a passion though our Health Market and wanting to move into expanding sports nutrition as a great part of our business plan and he was a natural extension for that.”

Though "Patriots Day" takes place in Boston and its story is centered strongly in that city, one of the other stars of the film, Michelle Monaghan, hails from northeast Iowa.

Michelle “is an absolute sweetheart and a force of nature when it comes to her talent," he said. "We really were adamant about people using accents and that stuff and she was working with a dialect coach. And a Boston accent is not an easy thing to do...But the way she came in and brought so much love and life to the part that she had to create, it was pretty amazing to see."

And even though Wahlberg is famously a Patriots football fan, if his beloved team doesn’t make it to the Super Bowl, he said he hopes a Midwestern squad takes home the championship.

“If the Patriots don’t make it to the Super Bowl, we want the Chiefs to win it all," he said.