Share Our Strength(R) Launches Fifth Annual Great American Bake Sale with Food Network Semi-Homemade(R) Star Sandra Lee and Ace of Cakes Duff Goldman

Share Our Strength(R) Launches Fifth Annual Great American Bake Sale with Food Network Semi-Homemade(R) Star Sandra Lee and Ace of Cakes Duff Goldman

Domino(R) Sugar/C&H(R) Sugar and Family Circle Magazine Join as Corporate Sponsors

WASHINGTON, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Share Our Strength(R), a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry, announced today that it is launching its fifth annual Great American Bake Sale. Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale(R), hosted by Sandra Lee and Duff Goldman and presented by Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar, is a national campaign that mobilizes Americans to end childhood hunger by holding bake sales in their communities. Since 2003, more than a million people have participated in the Great American Bake Sale, raising nearly $4 million to fight hunger in communities across America.

"Having a bake sale is an easy and fun way for people to make a difference in the lives of the more than 12 million American children at risk of hunger," said campaign spokesperson Sandra Lee. "Everyone in your community and workplace can get involved by baking their favorite semi-homemade recipes." Lee is the popular star of Food Network's Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee and a premier lifestyle and food expert. As a child Lee was faced with hunger -- she along with her four younger siblings survived on food stamps -- which was only very recently revealed in her memoir, Made from Scratch, published by Meredith Books.

"The Great American Bake Sale is an awesome way to raise funds for kids in your community facing hunger. No blowtorch is needed," said Duff Goldman, host of Food Network's most popular nighttime show Ace of Cakes.

Funds raised from the Great American Bake Sale will be granted to organizations to support summer and afterschool feeding programs for low-income children. In the summer, only 7% of children eligible for summer feeding programs participate in them -- leaving millions of school children to look elsewhere for food. Just one summer of poor nutrition can severely impact a child's performance in school.

Since 2003, bake sale funds have supported more than 100 organizations across America. Funds raised from the Great American Bake Sale also support Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline Program(R), a groundbreaking nutrition-education program that connects families and children with food by teaching them how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget. With the help of funds raised from the Great American Bake Sale, Operation Frontline has been able to teach 1,501 courses, reaching more than 16,000 low-income adults and children.

"By participating in the Great American Bake Sale, people can help Share Our Strength get low-income children access to healthy, nutrition meals," said Billy Shore, Executive Director of Share Our Strength. "Bake sale funds will be used to purchase equipment and utensils to serve children meals and to cover the cost to open additional sites where children can get meals."

The Great American Bake Sale will receive promotional support from Domino Sugar/C&H Sugar, Food Network and Family Circle magazine. Beginning in March of 2008, all Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar 5-lb and 10-lb sugar bags will feature the Great American Bake Sale. Food Network will air PSAs featuring Sandra Lee and Duff Goldman and also dedicate an "In the Kitchen" weekend programming block to the Great American Bake Sale on March 30 from 7AM-2PM ET/PT. Family Circle magazine will feature five PSAs as well as three feature articles about childhood hunger and the Great American Bake Sale in their April 1, April 17 and May 1 issues. Family Circle will also host a bake sale and silent auction during the Family Circle Cup, an annual women's tennis tournament that features world-class tennis players and over 90,000 spectators. Family Circle and Domino Sugar/C&H Sugar will also team up for a Bake Sale Recipe Contest, where participants have a chance win $5,000 for themselves and $5,000 for Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale. These events and promotions will all raise awareness and funds for the Great American Bake Sale.

Anyone can hold a bake sale with their friends, family or co-workers from now through June 30 by registering at www.greatamericanbakesale.org.

For exclusive bake sale recipes from Sandra Lee, visit www.semihomemade.com.

About Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength(R) is a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. We weave together a net of community groups, activists and food programs to catch children at risk of hunger, and surround them with nutritious food where they live, learn and play. We work with the culinary industry to create engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength's Taste of the Nation(R), Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale(R), Share Our Strength's A Tasteful Pursuit(R), Share Our Strength's Great American Dine Out(TM), and Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline(R). For more information, please visit www.strength.org.

About Sandra Lee

Sandra Lee is an internationally-acclaimed home, life and style expert who is a New York Times and Amazon.com best-selling author. With 13 books to her credit, she is the host of a top-rated TV show, Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee, on the Food Network. Sandra is set to release four new books in 2008 beginning with Semi-Homemade Grilling 2 in spring 2008. Semi-Homemade Cooking airs twelve times per week on the Food Network: Monday - Friday at 12:30pm and 4pm ET/PT, Saturday at 10am ET/PT and Sunday at 12pm ET/PT.

About Duff Goldman

Chef Duff has been cooking since the age of four, when his Mom caught him in the kitchen watching Chef Tell and swinging around a meat cleaver. Duff himself studied at the Corcoran School in Washington, D.C. and was at one time a graffiti artist of some notoriety. In addition to owning and operating Charm City Cakes, Duff is also a sculptor, artist, and musician -- he plays bass in the indie instrumental band "so I had to..." and is an all around good guy with the cleanest hands in town. Duff and his Charm City Cakes staff star in the Food Network series, Ace of Cakes airing Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT and Thursdays at 10:00 pm and 10:30 pm ET/PT.

About Domino Sugar/C&H Sugar

Domino(R) Sugar and C&H(R) Sugar are two of the leading brands of all natural, pure cane sugar in America. Together they are part of the Domino Foods, Inc. family of products. Domino(R) Sugar and C&H(R) Sugar have their own rich histories that each span over 100 years - Domino (R) in the Northeast and C&H(R) in the Western part of the country. Domino Foods, Inc. is proud to offer bakers in America two of the nation's leading brands of fine quality pure cane sugar products.

About Food Network

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network and Web site that strives to be way more than cooking. The network is committed to exploring new and different ways to approach food - through pop culture, competition, adventure, and travel - while also expanding its repertoire of technique-based information. Food Network is distributed to more than 90 million U.S. households and averages more than seven million Web site users monthly.

About Family Circle

Published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation, with a circulation of 3.8 million and 22 million readers, Family Circle is one of the most widely read women's magazines in the world. Family Circle, in its pages and online at familycircle.com, provides smart, relevant advice, sensible solutions and inspiration in a voice that encourages and celebrates success. Family Circle has always been committed to women's issues and in 1973 became the first women's magazine to fully underwrite a professional women's sporting event, the Family Circle Cup, an annual women's tennis tournament held in April in Charleston, S.C., at Family Circle Magazine Stadium.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Share Our Strength

CONTACT: Shalaya Henson of Share Our Strength, +1-202-478-6526,
shenson@strength.org

Web Site:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/
http://www.greatamericanbakesale.org/
http://www.semihomemade.com/
http://www.strength.org/

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