Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith, The Dannon Company and America's Second Harvest Partner to Help Strike out Childhood Hunger in America.

Business Editors

TARRYTOWN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 2004

Strike Out Hunger Challenge Kicks Off to Reward Families Who

Contribute to Hunger Relief Efforts; Visits to Dannon.com Trigger

Financial Donation To America's Second Harvest 

For most children, the summer means swimming, sports, friends, fun and best of all, no school. But for a growing number of less-privileged kids, summer without school means something very serious and scary -- no school meals. In an effort to combat the problem of childhood hunger in the summer months, The Dannon Company and America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest organization of emergency food providers, are partnering for the third straight year to help raise awareness of, and educate the public about childhood food insecurity through the Strike Out Hunger program.

With the help of baseball Hall-of-Famer Ozzie Smith, who grew up in the South Central section of Los Angeles and witnessed food insecurity first hand, Dannon will host Strike Out Hunger Nights at minor league baseball parks in select markets throughout the country. In addition, Americans who are helping to strike out hunger in their local community can be rewarded for their efforts through the Strike Out Hunger Challenge, and consumers who visit dannon.com can help by simply clicking on the Strike Out Hunger logo to trigger a financial donation to America's Second Harvest.

"The problem of hunger, and more specifically childhood hunger, is one we take very seriously at Dannon," said Eric Leventhal, Senior Vice President, Marketing, The Dannon Company. "The Strike Out Hunger campaign is our way of encouraging and rewarding those who work and volunteer to fight this problem in communities all across America."

Strike Out Hunger Nights, which will take place at minor league baseball games in select cities across the United States, will consist of consumer promotions and fundraising activities to help fight hunger in local communities and encourage volunteering. Ozzie Smith, who has been an active community member by volunteering with children and providing financial donations to help provide hunger relief, will be on hand in several markets to help raise awareness and boost consumer involvement. For a complete list of cities and activities, please visit dannon.com

The Strike Out Hunger Challenge rewards volunteers at food pantries, soup kitchens and hunger-relief agencies. To enter, volunteers can submit an essay that is 500 words or fewer describing their commitment to helping feed the needy. The grand prize will include $10,000 for the winner to donate to the hunger-relief organization to which he/she volunteers, as well as $1,000 in free groceries from his/her local supermarket. Four runners-up will each receive $1,000 to be donated in their names to the food banks of their choice, and $1,000 in free groceries.

HOW TO HELP

Dannon is also giving citizens all across the country the opportunity to help out. During the summer months, consumers can visit www.dannon.com and click on the Strike Out Hunger logo to trigger a $1 donation or the equivalent of 15 meals(*) for America's Second Harvest with a goal of reaching $100,000 or 1.5 million meals. In addition, visitors will find further information about how they can enter the Strike Out Hunger Challenge, tips on how they can help fight hunger, and information on hunger relief volunteer projects in their own communities.

"For a lot of children, the advent of summer isn't a cause for celebration," said Robert Forney, President and CEO, America's Second Harvest. "To the kids whose families struggle with poverty, summertime means no more school meals. We believe millions of children go hungry because their parents or guardians are unaware of or choose not to use nearby hunger relief facilities. It's why education programs, such as Dannon's Strike Out Hunger campaign, are so important to the cause."

ABOUT ENTERING THE STRIKE OUT HUNGER CHALLENGE

Those interested can enter the 2004 Strike Out Hunger Challenge contest by submitting a 500-word essay describing their work with a hunger-relief organization and why it is important to them. All entries will be reviewed and judged on the basis of charitable value, ingenuity and motivational value of the hunger-relief work. Entries must include name, mailing address, phone number, selected hunger-relief organization and the essay, 500 words or fewer. The essay should answer the following questions:

-- Describe the volunteer(s)' work with a hunger-relief

organization and what encouraged the volunteer(s) to dedicate 

efforts to help end hunger?

-- What is unique about the volunteer(s)' work?

Entries can be submitted at www.dannon.com or mailed to: Strike Out Hunger Challenge, c/o Fleishman-Hillard, 220 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017. All entries must be postmarked by September 3, 2004, and received by September 10, 2004. Winners will be announced in October of 2004. For more information about the Strike Out Hunger Challenge, or to obtain an entry form, go to www.dannon.com.

The Dannon Company, Inc., is a leading national producer of yogurt products in the United States with corporate headquarters in Tarrytown, NY, and plants in Minster, OH; Fort Worth, TX; and West Jordan, UT. With a strong commitment to high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, Dannon produces about 6 million cups of yogurt each day in 100 flavors, styles and sizes. For more information about Dannon, visit the company's Web site at www.dannon.com.

America's Second Harvest is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a national network of more than 200 regional food banks and food-rescue programs, serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico. It distributes almost 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. America's Second Harvest's network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, operating more than 94,000 food programs, including food pantries, soup kitchens, women's shelters, Kids Cafes, and Community Kitchens. These local organizations provide emergency food assistance to 23 million hungry Americans, including more than 9 million children and 2.5 million seniors each year.

Entries must be postmarked by September 3, 2004. No purchase necessary. Open to residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. See www.dannon.com or call 1-800-DANNONUS for complete rules.

(*) An average meal distributed by the America's Second Harvest

network is equal to 1.28 pounds of food. One dollar provides

the equivalent of 20 pounds of food or approximately 15 meals.