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The Search Is On For Hunger-Fighting Heroes

Keasbey, NJ (September, 2008) – ShopRite Partners In Caring is celebrating ten years of fighting hunger and this milestone has prompted their search for ten “Hunger-Fighting Heroes” in the community. ShopRite, teaming up with Cheerios, is out to prove that local superheroes do exist and can be found in children and adults making conscious decisions to help those in need.

With rising energy prices, the number of people battling hunger on a daily basis is growing. The ShopRite Hunger-Fighting Heroes Contest recognizes people who are devoting time, money and energy to the crusade against hunger. The ten winners of the “Hunger-Fighting Heroes” contest will be rewarded with a spot on a special-edition Cheerios box, joining the ranks of athletes and celebrities who normally grace the front of cereal boxes.

Family, friends and community members can submit nominations describing how someone they know has made an impact in the fight against hunger. Whether the individual volunteers regularly at a soup kitchen, coordinates food drives or holds bake sales to fight hunger, ShopRite wants to hear about their efforts! Nominations should illustrate how “hunger-fighting heroes” show determination to eliminate hunger in their communities through their hunger fighting activities.

To nominate a Hunger-Fighting Hero in your community, send submissions electronically through www.shoprite.com no later than midnight October 24, 2008 or can be mailed, postmarked no later than October 24, 2008, to the following address:

Hunger-Fighting Heroes Contest
Wakefern Corporation Consumer and Corporate Communications P7-103
P.O. Box 7812
Edison, NJ 08818-7812

Nominations will be judged by a panel from Wakefern Food Corporation, the marketing and distribution arm for ShopRite supermarkets, and General Mills, Inc., who will consider the specific activities conducted in the fight against hunger, results achieved, and the spirit in which the activities were conducted. Five children (17 years old or younger) and five adults will be selected and featured on a limited-edition Cheerios box to be sold exclusively at ShopRite stores in Spring, 2009. They will share the spotlight with ShopRite store associates across a five-state region (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Pennsylvania) who will be raising funds and awareness of the issue of hunger through the 8th annual ShopRite Partners In Caring Cheerios Contest. The ShopRite stores that raise the most money and awareness in their communities from August 3 until October 18 will win a spot on the back of the limited-edition Cheerios box.

“We think this is the perfect way to honor those who are taking extraordinary measures in their communities to help reduce hunger,” said Karen Meleta, ShopRite Partners In Caring spokeswoman. “We hope that by spotlighting the Hunger-Fighting Heroes on the Cheerios box, we can bring awareness to the issue of hunger in our communities.”

About ShopRite
ShopRite supermarkets are members of Wakefern Food Corporation, a retailer-owned cooperative. Through the 200 stores, located throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Delaware, ShopRite serves more than four million customers each week. A long time supporter of key community efforts, ShopRite was named America’s Second Harvest Grocery Distributor of the Year (1999) for its ShopRite Partners In Caring program, a year-round initiative dedicated to fighting hunger in the communities served by ShopRite stores. Since its inception, ShopRite Partners In Caring has donated more than $18 million to more than 1,400 worthy charities.

About ShopRite Partners In Caring
ShopRite Partners In Caring is a year-round, community-based, hunger-fighting initiative that works with more than 70 food industry manufacturers to provide $2 million annually to qualified charitable agencies in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Since its inception in 1999, ShopRite Partners In Caring has donated $18 million to more than 1,400 charities. ShopRite Partners In Caring supports emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, child care centers, battered women's shelters, senior citizen programs, drug rehab centers, programs for the mentally and physically disabled, after-school programs and other organizations that aid those in need. The ShopRite Partners In Caring Fund was established in 2002 as a component fund of the Community Foundation of New Jersey to accept private donations that help fund its charitable endeavors. For more information or to learn how you can help, please visit www.shopritepartnersincaring.org

About Cheerios
Cheerios, America's No. 1 cereal, debuted in 1941 as Cheerioats. The nation's first ready-to-eat oat cereal has since become one of the most trusted and recognized brands in America. In fact, one of every 10 boxes of cereal sold in America is a box of Cheerios. General Mills' popular franchise includes Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, MultiGrain Cheerios, Berry Burst Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Cheerios Crunch and Yogurt Burst Cheerios. For more information, go to www.cheerios.com

About General Mills
One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates in over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands, including Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A., General Mills had FY2008 global net sales of US$ 14.9 billion, including the company’s $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint venture net sales.