More than $20,000 in grants and scholarships to be presented during kick off

(BLACK PR WIRE) ( February 09, 2011) ITASCA, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE) -- JEWEL-OSCO, a leading Midwest food and drug retailer, will commemorate Black History Month with its 12th annual A Taste of Black History celebration, a month-long program honoring the contributions of JEWEL-OSCOs African-American vendors.

A Taste of Black History will kick off Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, with an invitation-only reception at Chicago’s South Shore Cultural Center. During a special presentation that evening, a total of $15,000 in grants will be awarded to Trinity United Church of Christ, Growing Power, Inc. and the North Lawndale Employment Network, for their outstanding work in the areas of hunger relief, nutrition education and environmental stewardship respectively. JEWEL-OSCO, in partnership with its African-American vendors, will also present $7,500 in scholarships to students from Chicago’s Washburne Culinary Institute who participated in A Taste of Black History and helped make it a success. In addition, JEWEL-OSCO will honor one of its African-American vendors, Baldwin Richardson Foods, with the Vendor of the Year Award.

Diversity and developing minority vendors are important to us and the success of our company, said Jim Seidler, JEWEL-OSCO organic specialty and ethnic sales and merchandising manager. Therefore, we would like to thank our African-American vendors for their outstanding contributions that help us meet the needs of our customers every day. In turn, we hope consumers recognize that by purchasing African-American vendor products, they are also supporting these outstanding men and women.
In addition to the kick-off reception, JEWEL-OSCO is hosting in-store celebrations and tastings of African-American vendor products each Sunday in February, in honor of A Taste of Black History. These events, which are open to the public, are scheduled for the following stores:

1655 E. 95th St. 1:30 pm-
Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011 Chicago, Ill. 6:30 pm

11730 S. Marshfield 1:30 pm-
Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 Chicago, Ill. 6:30 pm

1220 S. Ashland 1:30 pm-
Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011 Chicago, Ill. 6:30 pm

17705 S. Halsted 1:30 pm-
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 Homewood, Ill. 6:30 pm

For more information about A Taste of Black History, customers can visit www.jewelosco-tbhm.com.�

JEWEL-OSCO
JEWEL-OSCO, a SUPERVALU company, operates more than 180 stores in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. With a market-leading position in Chicago, JEWEL-OSCO stores offer consumers the convenience of combined grocery and pharmacy retail, in addition to services such as fuel centers at select locations. Originally established in 1899, the company and its associates remain committed to the communities they serve. For more information about JEWEL-OSCO, please visit www.jewelosco.com or www.jeweloscopharmacies.com.

Source: JEWEL-OSCO

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