ConAgra Foods, Food Bank for the Heartland and Mayor Shuttle Share Results of Shine the Light on Hunger Campaign

ConAgra Foods presents Food Bank for the Heartland with check from proceeds of the Ice Rink and an additional, special donation.

OMAHA, Jan. 13, 2010—ConAgra Foods and the Mayor’s office shared results of the community’s support of the Shine the Light on Hunger campaign today, as ConAgra Foods Foundation President, Chris Kircher, presented a check for $166,487.28 to Food Bank for the Heartland to help address food shortages facing the Food Bank this year. This check reflected proceeds of $66,487.28 from the ConAgra Foods Ice Rink, plus an additional $100,000 donation from the ConAgra Foods Foundation on behalf of the company’s employees.

A second check in the amount of $10,230.56 also was presented to the Food Bank from Baker’s supermarkets, reflecting donations collected as part of the campaign at Metro-area stores. Together, these checks totaled $176,717.84 raised for Food Bank for the Heartland this year as part of ConAgra Foods’ Shine the Light on Hunger campaign. In addition, Kircher said that 152,863 pounds of food and supplies were collected during the campaign from more than 175 participating area businesses and schools.

“ConAgra Foods employees and the community came together once again to Shine the Light on Hunger and support Food Bank for the Heartland as it struggles to keep up with growing demand,” Kircher said. “We’re proud to call Omaha our home and we’re grateful for such strong support from the community, particularly at a time when the Food Bank needs it most.”

The “Shine the Light on Hunger” campaign kicked off on Thanksgiving night at the Holiday Lights Festival opening ceremonies in downtown Omaha. The centerpiece of the campaign was the 60-foot by 120-foot ConAgra Foods Ice Skating Rink which attracted nearly 10,000 people from the metro-Omaha area. All proceeds from the rink were directed to Food Bank for the Heartland.

One out of every four children – or 17 million kids – across the nation is hungry or at risk of hunger every year, meaning they are not sure if or when their next meal will come. In Nebraska and Iowa, this equates to more than 200,000 children. Many people who seek emergency food assistance have at least one adult working full-time. Very often these families are faced with the decision of paying to keep a roof over their heads or buy food, even within the Omaha-Metro area, and specifically Douglas County. Food Bank for the Heartland uses funds raised to support local food banks and Kids Cafés – safe-haven, after-school programs where kids can go for tutoring activities and a free meal.

About Food Bank for the Heartland

Food Bank for the Heartland distributes between 5 and 7 million pounds of food each year, and serves more than 360 food pantries and meal providers in Douglas County and western Iowa.

About the ConAgra Foods Foundation

The ConAgra Foods Foundation’s Nourish Today, Flourish Tomorrow platform is dedicated to raising awareness of the more than 17 million children in America who are at risk of hunger and don't have enough food to live active, healthful lives, and to aggressively pursuing sustainable solutions in the fight against child hunger. ConAgra Foods Foundation invests in national and local partnerships with high-impact, not-for-profit organizations such as Share Our Strength and America’s Second Harvest that take an innovative approach to addressing needs in the core areas of hunger and nutrition education. For more information, please visit the ConAgra Foods Foundation Web site at www.nourishkidstoday.org.

About ConAgra Foods

ConAgra Foods, Inc., (NYSE: CAG) is one of North America’s leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America’s households. Consumers find Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip and many ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandiser and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying potato, other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. For more information, please visit us at www.conagrafoods.com.

Contact Information:
Shelby Stoolman
Shelby.Stoolman@conagrafoods.com
402-240-4691
402-238-5265 cell