Five Aspiring Kid Chefs Compete For $25,000 Scholarship Fund and National Bragging Rights for the Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich

ORRVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Creative peanut butter sandwiches are about to help five aspiring kid chefs pay for college. Today, Jif® Peanut Butter announced the top five finalists in the Eighth Annual Jif® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest™ that will move on to the live judging event in New York City.  The top five finalists will now compete to earn a $25,000 college scholarship fund and bragging rights as this year's "Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich."  The four runners-up will each receive a $2,500 scholarship.

Jif Contest Finalists

Inspired by the peanutty taste of Jif, the finalists include:

• Rachel G., 10, Clovis, CA - PB &Fruity Says "Let Us Rap"
• Stephanie H.,10,  Plymouth, MI - Chickenchita
• Maria M., 11,  East Longmeadow, MA - Peanutty Cristo Breakfast Sandwich
• West M., 6, Santa Clara, UT - More Rockin' Moroccan Peanutty Pitas
• Lauren W., 10, Waukesha, WI – Peanut Butter and Banana Quesadilla with Fresh Fruit Salsa

Visit www.jif.com for the complete recipes.

"With help from their parents, the five kid chefs have all demonstrated new ideas for using Jif Peanut Butter in imaginative and creative recipes", said Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company.  "Jif Peanut Butter has been the number one choice of moms for more than 50 years and we are pleased to see the popularity of this contest grow among families."

Hundreds of kid and parent teams from across the United States submitted peanut butter sandwich recipes from August through November, 2009.  All recipes submitted 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 most online votes and the highest scores from the preliminary judging.

On March 19, 2010, the five finalists will put their creativity to the test and debut their peanut butter sandwiches for a panel of judges at The Culinary Loft in New York City.  Each child will demonstrate how to prepare his/her sandwich and judges will rate each sandwich based on creativity, nutritional balance, taste, appearance and ease of preparation.  

Also receiving a trip to New York for the final judging event is the winner of the Jif® Moms Voice Their Choice Contest™.  People nationwide shared stories about how moms make the best choices for their families on www.jif.com .  This year, Lisa R. from Lexington, KY submitted the winning essay and earned an honorary seat on the panel at the final judging event for the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. 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."  Visit www.jif.com to read Lisa's winning entry.

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 J.M. Smucker Company