Tie on Your Apron and Get Ready to Bake to Help End Childhood Hunger in America

Share Our Strength launches Eighth-Annual Great American Bake Sale® March 1

National Challenge Set for May 13-15, 2011

WASHINGTON, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It was announced today that Share Our Strength®'s Eighth Annual Great American Bake Sale®, presented by Domino® Sugar, C&H® Sugar and Duncan Hines®, will officially kick off nationwide on March 1, 2011.  Great American Bake Sale is a national campaign that encourages Americans to hold bake sales in their communities to raise funds for Share Our Strength, the leading organization ending childhood hunger in America.

Share Our Strength is asking families, kids, neighbors, businesses, churches and even whole towns to hold bake sales to help raise funds to support Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry® Campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. Through this campaign, Share Our Strength ensures that children in need are enrolled in federal nutrition programs like school lunch and breakfast, invests in community organizations that help connect kids with the food they need, teaches at-risk families how to cook healthy, affordable meals and builds public-private partnerships to end child hunger nationally and at the state and city levels. Since 2003, 1.7 million people have participated in the Great American Bake Sale, and raised more than $6 million.

Bake sales, which are happening throughout the country all year long, empower individuals, including children, to make a difference in their own communities and become part of the solution. They can be held in a variety of venues, from schools to community centers, to churches or businesses. To find a bake sale in your area or to get information on hosting a bake sale, visit: greatamericanbakesale.org.

In addition to the Annual Great American Bake Sale, Americans are invited to join the Great American Bake Sale National Challenge on May 13-15, 2011. In its second year, the Challenge is a three-day call to action to hold as many bake sales as possible in as many states as possible.

"Hunger affects more than 17 million kids in the United States. That is nearly 1 in 4," says Sandra Lee, national spokesperson. "Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale is a great way for people to give back to their communities while having fun. By hosting bake sales, individuals are helping feed children who struggle with hunger."  

Lee, popular star of Food Network's "Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee" and a premier lifestyle and food expert, faced hunger as a child—she along with her four younger siblings relied on federal feeding programs like food stamps. In 2008, Lee joined Great American Bake Sale as the campaign's national spokesperson. Lee will publish a new cookbook entitled Semi-Homemade Bake Sale, and will donate 25% of proceeds to Share Our Strength's Great American Bake Sale.

Great American Bake Sale is supported by Chicago Metallic™, official bakeware partner, Food Network, national television partner, Family Circle, national print partner and Solo®, an official baking ingredient partner.

Register your bake sale or learn more at GreatAmericanBakesale.org.

About Share Our Strength

Share Our Strength®, a national nonprofit, is ending childhood hunger in America by connecting children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives.  Through its No Kid Hungry® Campaign—a national effort to end childhood hunger in America by 2015—Share Our Strength ensures children in need are enrolled in effective federal nutrition programs; invests in community organizations fighting hunger; teaches families how to cook healthy, affordable meals; and builds public-private partnerships to end hunger, nationally and at the state and city level. Working closely with the culinary industry and relying on the strength of its volunteers, Share Our Strength hosts innovative culinary fundraising events and develops pioneering cause marketing campaigns that support No Kid Hungry. Visit Strength.org to get involved.

About Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade® (www.sandralee.com)

Sandra Lee has a passion for simple solutions that create dramatic results in all areas of home life.  She is editor-in-chief of Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Magazine, the host of Sandra Lee Celebrates, a series of primetime specials on HGTV and two highly rated television shows on Food Network, the multi-Emmy-nominated Semi-Homemade Cooking and Sandra's Money Saving Meals.  Sandra Lee is also a The New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three books including the much anticipated 2011 spring release Sandra Lee Bake Sale Cookbook.

About Domino Sugar/C&H Sugar

Domino® Sugar and C&H® 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® Sugar and C&H® Sugar have their own rich histories that each span over 100 years—Domino ® in the Northeast and C&H® 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 Duncan Hines

A household name for decades, Duncan Hines® is one of America's most recognizable brands. The brand was started by a man named Duncan Hines who was a traveling salesman, food critic and book author in the 1940s. Today, the Duncan Hines product line includes over 80 different mixes ranging from cakes and brownies to muffins and cookies as well as ready-to-spread frosting.  With a relentless commitment to quality, every product and recipe is developed in celebration of Duncan Hines' inventive spirit and passion for baking. For more information on Duncan Hines, log onto www.duncanhines.com.

About Chicago Metallic

Chicago Metallic has been crafting innovative baking equipment for professionals and serious home bakers for over 100 years.  Based in Illinois, we are a proud member of the Focus Products Group family of brands. The brand is carried by leading retailers including Williams-Sonoma, Macy's, Sur La Table, Bed Bath and Beyond, Amazon, Gourmet Catalog and independent gourmet stores.  To learn more about specific products, please visit www.chicagometallicbakeware.com.

About Food Network

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.25 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIYNetwork (www.diynetwork.com),Great American Country (www.gactv.com) and Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), is the manager and general partner.

About Family Circle

Published 15 times a year by Meredith Corporation, with a circulation of 3.8 million and 21 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.

About Solo Foods

Sokol and Company, more commonly known as Solo, was founded in 1895 as a modest neighborhood grocery store in Chicago. After more than a century, Solo has evolved into a multifaceted food company serving the retail, industrial and foodservice industries worldwide. Now into its fifth generation of family operation and ownership, Solo continues to redefine the benchmark for quality and service in the food industry.  Boasting an impressive portfolio of retail products under the Baker®, Borden®, Chun's®, Simon Fisher®, and Solo® brands, Solo is also a valued supplier to industrial markets, as well, with emphasis in custom formulation, private label and contract packaged products. For more information, please visit www.solofoods.com .

CONTACT: Theresa Burton, 202-478-6522, [email protected]

SOURCE Share Our Strength