Wednesday 10th June 2009: Cheltenham-based food business Kraft Foods has once again been awarded a prestigious ‘Big Tick’ for two of its community initiatives.

The Big Tick is awarded by Business in the Community, a national group supported by HRH Prince Charles and which aims to help businesses in working responsibly.

Kraft Foods has gained the awards firstly for its health4schools programme, which helps Gloucestershire schools undertake activities to teach children about healthy eating and staying active – and also for its coffee sustainability work, ensuring that coffee growing communities and environments are nurtured while producing the beans that the company blends into its well-known Kenco coffee brand.

Jonathan Horrell, director of corporate affairs at Kraft Foods’ UK and Ireland headquarters in central Cheltenham said:

“We are delighted to have gained fresh Big Tick awards for these two well-known projects. Big Ticks from Business in the Community reflect the hard work from Kraft Foods teams and our partners that goes into both areas of work. It's important to contribute to the communities where we do business, whether that’s here in Gloucestershire with health4schools, or in the coffee-growing regions of the world, from where we buy coffee beans for Kenco.”

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said:

“I congratulate all the winners of a Big Tick this year.  In the current economic climate it is fantastic to see so many strong examples of businesses that recognise the benefits, both social, environmental and to their bottom line, of being a responsible business.

The Big Tick is awarded to businesses able to demonstrate significant impact and high quality management of their responsible business practices and who can show a positive impact both on society and on the business.”

Big Tick awards are made after assessment by a panel of independent and experienced practitioners, and as such is both hard won (only 39% of applicants in 2008 were successful), and highly prestigious.

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Notes

1. About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods (www.kraftfoodscompany.com) makes today delicious in 150 countries around the globe.  Our 100,000 employees work tirelessly to make delicious foods consumers can feel good about.  From American brand icons like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Maxwell House coffees and Oscar Mayer meats, to global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, Côte d’Or, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates, our brands deliver millions of smiles every day.  Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is the world’s second largest food company with annual revenues of $42 billion.  The company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor’s 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index.

2. About health4schools
Kraft Foods’ health4schools programme encourages schools to engage pupils in practical activities which focus upon food, health and active play and thus gain an understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. 100 schools in Gloucestershire are currently involved in the scheme.

health4schools provides support through funding; support from trained facilitators who help schools to plan and implement the programme; and guidance to schools on how to sustain the programme for the long term. It focuses on four strands of activity: growing and learning about food; learning to cook; eating breakfast and active play.

health4schools would not be possible without the support of partners who steer the programme along with Kraft Foods. These partners include Gloucestershire County Council and Primary Care Trust.

3. About Kraft Foods’ coffee sustainability work
Kraft Foods is the largest buyer of coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. The Rainforest Alliance is an independent non-profit organisation working to protect the environment and ensure sustainable livelihoods. Kraft Foods has been working with the Rainforest Alliance since 2003 - our purchases have benefitted more than 306,000 farmers and helped preserve more that 61,261 hectares of forest.

Last year, Kraft Foods UK and Ireland announced that the entire Kenco coffee range will be made with beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms by 2010. As the UK’s second largest coffee brand, it helps towards improving the lives of coffee farmers, their families and communities, as well as protecting the environment they depend upon.