/PRNewswire/ - From rural China to the streets of Mexico City, a record number of Kraft Foods employees volunteered in 72 countries this month to fight hunger and promote healthy lifestyles. At more than 800 events across the globe, 25,000 employees packed food for the hungry, planted community gardens, educated at-risk youth about health and nutrition, supported disaster relief efforts, and provided aid to the elderly, disabled and low-income families.  

"This year's Delicious Difference Week was the largest, most impactful volunteer event in our history," said Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO, who volunteered at the Greater Chicago Food Depository to help pack more than 10,000 pounds of food for the hungry. Rosenfeld also volunteered as a guest gym instructor at Namaste Charter School to teach children about the importance of active living. "I'm so proud that our employees are part of the fabric of their communities – making a delicious difference year after year."

Below are examples of employee volunteer efforts from around the world:

• Brazil: Brazil employees combined fighting hunger and healthy living through their efforts planting fruit and vegetable gardens. All of the food harvested at each of the four gardens will be donated to food pantries and nonprofit organizations. Volunteers also worked with INMED Partnerships for Children to teach 350 children, teens and adults about gardening, nutrition and active living.  
• China: It was a record Delicious Difference Week in China. More than 1,000 employees volunteered nearly 3,000 hours. Their work benefited 12,000 people across the country. Employees refurbished elementary schools and taught children about health, nutrition and physical fitness. Volunteers also planted the Kraft Hope Kitchen Delicious Garden, as part of the company's Kraft Hope Kitchen program, aimed at improving nutrition for children in rural China.
• Dubai: Disaster relief was the focus in Dubai, where 150 employees united with the Red Crescent Society to pack Kraft Foods products for victims of recent flooding in Pakistan and famine in Somalia. Volunteers packed more than 5,500 boxes of food, including Oreo, Bournvita peanut butter, Kraft cheese and Belvita.
• Germany: Employees across Germany focused on helping children in need. Events included building and refurbishing playgrounds, planting gardens, renovating and painting schools, and building athletic spaces like soccer fields and skateboarding parks.
• United States: At 40 food banks across the country, employees packed more than 600,000 pounds of pounds of food for the hungry. Other volunteer events included building playgrounds in play deserts with KaBOOM!, planting urban gardens, serving meals to the hungry, and teaching children about nutrition and exercise.

Teaming up with nonprofit partners to make a difference
Kraft Foods partners with hundreds of nonprofit organizations to make Delicious Difference Week events possible. Those include Feeding America, Helen Keller International, KaBOOM!, Save the Children and INMED Partnerships for Children. 

Through Delicious Difference Week and multiyear programs funded by the Kraft Foods Foundation, Kraft Foods and its employees fight hunger and promote healthy lifestyles on almost every continent. Over the past 25 years, the company and the Foundation have donated more than $1 billion in cash, food and humanitarian aid globally.

About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love. Proudly marketing delicious biscuits, confectionery, beverages, cheese, grocery products and convenient meals in approximately 170 countries, Kraft Foods had 2010 revenue of $49.2 billion. Twelve of the company's iconic brands – Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Tang and Trident – generate revenue of more than $1 billion annually. On Aug. 4, 2011, Kraft Foods announced plans to divide and create two independent public companies: a high-growth global snacks business and a high-margin North American grocery business. The transaction will take at least 12 months to complete, during which time plans regarding the structure, management, governance and other matters will be announced. A leader in innovation, marketing, health & wellness and sustainability, Kraft Foods is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index. Visit kraftfoodscompany.com and facebook.com/kraftfoodscorporate.

— make today delicious —

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