Hillsdale PS Food Mart CITGO Leads Way in Providing 28,000 PopTarts for Needy Local Families

HOMER, Mich., Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Led by the Hillsdale PS Food Mart CITGO, twenty-seven PS Food Mart Stores in 17 communities across South Central Michigan and Toledo, Ohio rallied their customers and neighbors in support of families in need. Generous donors purchased nearly 28,000 Kellogg's PopTarts which were donated to 24 different food pantries, homeless shelters, after school programs and churches in the communities of the individual PS Food Mart stores. The PopTarts will provide breakfasts and snacks for individuals that otherwise might go without food.

"It is often easy to forget that there are many families and children across our communities who struggle to put food on the table," said Dick Folk, with PS Food Mart Charities. "While a PopTart can often be seen as a snack or breakfast on the go, they also provide good nutritional value including protein, fiber and calcium that are part of a healthy diet. Our PS Food Mart Store managers and employees have deep ties to their communities and know where there is a need. With their guidance and the fantastic outpouring of support from our loyal customers and Kellogg's we were able to provide food to needy local families this holiday season."

Customers at all 27 PS Food Mart Stores were invited to buy two PopTarts for $1 and donate the treats to charity and community groups identified by PS Food Mart store managers. In partnership with PS Food Mart Charities and the Folk Oil Company, store managers and employees worked hard to identify the programs which have the greatest impact on local families, children and individuals in each of the communities they serve. These employees were also local champions in getting customers to dig deep and give generously to the program.

Leading the fundraising effort was manager Jannette Smith and the generous customers and employees from the Hillsdale PS Food Mart CITGO in Hillsdale, Mich. Together, they donated more than 5,000 PopTarts to eight food pantries in the Hillsdale area that support thousands of hungry families. Other leading donors include the customers of the Detroit Ave. PS Food Mart in Toledo, which collected more than 3,000 PopTarts for the Cherry Street Mission in downtown Toledo and the Cooper Street PS Food Mart in Jackson, Mich., which donated almost 3,000 PopTarts to a food pantry, local Red Cross chapter and homeless shelter in Jackson.

"I think most people smile when they think of PopTarts because they are such an American icon. Now we at PS Food Mart Charities and Folk Oil Company also smile because of the outpouring of support from our generous customers and neighbors to feed those in need," added Folk. "Our company has been a proud member of the community for many years and we are excited to work with our local store managers to find a new way to lend a helping hand. Being able to tie-in Kellogg's, which plays such an important role in our region, was an added benefit – like the sprinkles on a PopTart."

PS Food Mart Charities is supported in their efforts by CITGO Petroleum Corporation. CITGO, in alignment with the social development principles of its shareholder, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, participates in a wide variety of local charity and community programs in each of the 27 states and the District of Columbia served by locally owned CITGO stations.

For more information on PS Food Mart and Folk Oil programs that support the local community, and to find the closest PS Food Mart Store visit www.PSFoodMart.com.

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by PDV America, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

For more information visit www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO