Students at Rolesville Elementary to Receive Better Education Thanks to Eight Miles of Box Tops RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With one swipe of her Food Lion MVP card and the purchase of several General Mills products, former Rolesville Elementary student and current employee, Julie Brown, was selected as a sweepstakes winner and significantly impacted her former elementary school. Box Tops for Education, a leading school fundraising program, will donate $50,000 to Rolesville Elementary School on behalf of General Mills, Food Lion and winner, Julie Brown, this Holiday season. With 670 students, Rolesville Principal Shane Barham, also a former Rolesville Elementary student, is looking to the school board and the school leadership team to decide how the school is going to spend the awarded funds -- an amount that significantly increases the school's current budget of $36,500 for supplies that is provided by the state of North Carolina. "We're extremely grateful to General Mills, Food Lion and Julie Brown for caring about education and specifically, the students at Rolesville Elementary," said Principal Barham. "It is our goal to use this money to improve all areas of our school from providing professional collaboration sessions for teachers to providing a book program for students." Food Lion ran General Mills' Box Tops for Education sweepstakes in its stores this fall, announcing to customers that the school of their choice could be the recipient of a generous $50,000 check, one of the largest amounts awarded through the Box Tops for Education program. Prior to winning such a large sum of money, Rolesville Elementary had earned a total of $2,974 since 2002. "We're always excited to offer our customers new incentives to shop at Food Lion stores," said Store Manager Rockey Hester. "We're glad that General Mills and the Box Tops for Education program provide our customers ways to give back to their community." "Food Lion is committed to the communities we serve, and children's education and helping kids get a good start in life is a top priority," said Tammy DeBoer, Food Lion divisional vice president of retail operations. "This program helps to provide schools with essential tools, and we are happy to partner with General Mills in this effort." The Box Tops for Education program has helped schools earn more than $200 million over the past 11 years. Volunteer Box Tops Coordinators encourage families and individuals to participate in the program through buying groceries featuring the Box Tops coupons that are worth 10 cents each. "We believe that education is vital to giving our kids a healthy future," said Tony Sisneros, General Mills Customer Manager. "It's an incredible way for our brands to give back to schools and students across the United States." Rolesville Elementary was established in 1928. It serves children from various areas of Wake County, North Carolina, as a traditional school option for several year-round schools. Located near Raleigh, Rolesville is one of thousands of schools across the United States that benefit from the Box Tops for Education program. About Box Tops for Education: The Box Tops for Education program began in 1996, as more and more schools struggled to make ends meet. Each year, all enrolled schools receive a complete program kit to help them build their own comprehensive fundraising campaign. Most schools designate a program coordinator to develop ways to encourage students, parents, school staff and community members to clip Box Tops from participating products and bring them to school. After the collected Box Tops are sent in to General Mills, the school receives a check, equivalent to 10 cents for every Box Top redeemed. Schools can earn up to $60,000 per year, up to $20,000 respectively from the Clip, Shop and Book Club program components, to spend on anything they choose. Thousands of schools have used the money from Box Tops for Education to purchase items such as computers and computer software, library books, art supplies, and playground equipment. Box Tops for Education is open to any accredited public, private, or parochial schools for grades K-8 in the United States that have a 501(c)(3) or 509(a)(1) tax-exempt designation and to any United States military schools, for grades K-8, worldwide. The program is also available to accredited home school associations, K-8, in the United States that have a 501 (c)(3) or 509 (a)(1) tax-exempt designation and have 15 or more students. About Food Lion: Food Lion LLC is a subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group (NYSE:DEG). Food Lion LLC operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's. These stores meet local customer needs and preferences for the freshest and best quality products. Food Lion LLC employs approximately 73,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. DATASOURCE: General Mills CONTACT: Brittany Thoms of Leader Enterprises Inc., +1-678-507-1031, , for General Mills

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