A Jif(R) Peanut Butter Sandwich Earns an Aspiring Kid Chef a $25,000 Scholarship and National Bragging Rights

ORRVILLE, Ohio, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the makers of Jif® Peanut Butter announced 10-year-old Rachel Granillo of Clovis, CA as the winner of the Eighth Annual Jif® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest™.  Rachel was awarded a $25,000 college scholarship fund for her PB & Fruity says "Let Us Rap" sandwich. Four runners-up each received a $2,500 college scholarship fund and a Jif gift basket for their creative peanut butter sandwich recipes.

Rachel's PB & Fruity says "Let Us Rap" sandwich was chosen to be the most creative after the five contest finalists flexed their creative muscles and presented their sandwiches, showcasing the peanutty taste of Jif Peanut Butter, to a panel of judges in New York City. Rachel's musical choice of sandwich ingredients includes; Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter, apples, grapes and chicken combined in a lettuce wrap. For photos and complete recipes, visit www.jif.com.  

Runners-Up

• West M., 7, Santa Clara, UT – More Rockin' Moroccan Peanutty Pitas
• Stephanie H., 10 Plymouth, MI – Chickenchita
• Maria M., 11, East Longmeadow, MA – Peanutty Cristo Breakfast Sandwich
• Lauren W., 10, Waukesha, WI - Peanut Butter and Banana Quesadilla with Fresh Fruit Salsa

"We applaud Rachel and all of the runners-up for demonstrating their creativity and culinary skills with their imaginative peanut butter sandwiches," said Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company.  "The contest continues to show the role that parents play in fostering creativity in their children, spending time together and making family mealtime fun."

One of the judges at this year's live judging event was the winner of the Jif® Moms Voice Their Choice Contest™, Lisa R. from Lexington, KY.

"It has been an honor to be included in the judging process this year. I was impressed by the creativity displayed in each of the finalist's peanut butter sandwich recipes," said Lisa.  "It is also inspiring to see other moms in action, making great choices for their families." In her winning essay, Lisa creatively describes how she makes the best choices for her family by applying "choice-making criteria" that include four simple questions to help her make decisions and encourage "each child to live a good healthy life."  

Now in its eighth year, the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest continues to encourage parents to foster creativity in their children and brings parents and children together in the kitchen.  Kid and parent teams from across the United States submitted peanut butter sandwich recipes from August through November, 2009.  Recipes underwent an initial round of judging to determine 10 recipes that would compete in an online vote.  The final judging event represents the top five sandwiches receiving a combination of the online votes and the highest scores from the preliminary judging.

For more information about Jif Peanut Butter tips, recipes, contests and promotions, log on to www.jif.com.

About The J.M. Smucker Company

For more than 100 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that help families create memorable mealtime moments.  Today, Smucker is the leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker's®, Folgers®, Dunkin' Donuts®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Eagle Brand®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, White Lily® and Martha White® in the United States, along with Robin Hood®, Five Roses®, Carnation®, Europe's Best® and Bick's® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. The Company has appeared on FORTUNE Magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States 11 times, ranking number one in 2004. For more information about the Company, visit www.smuckers.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks, except Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC, used under license; Carnation is a trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., used under license; and Dunkin' Donuts is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC used under license.

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company