General Mills Supports Hurricane Relief Efforts in Gulf Coast

$100,000 Worth of Food Donated to Help Restock Already Low Food
Shelves in the Region
MINNEAPOLIS--(Business Wire)--
The General Mills Foundation pledged a total of $200,000 to
provide relief aid for the remainder of the hurricane season. The
company pledged $100,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief
Fund for hurricanes. In addition, the company donated $100,000 in
General Mills food products to Feeding America, (formerly America's
Second harvest) to help restock already low food shelves in the Gulf
Coast region. Product donations include cereal and snacks.

"We are proud to partner with the American Red Cross and Feeding
America to help the people in the Gulf Coast with both immediate and
long-term needs," says Ellen Goldberg Luger, General Mills vice
president and executive director of the Foundation. "General Mills
wants to reach out to these communities during this time of need to
use our resources to help alleviate the hardships the region is
enduring during hurricane season."

The General Mills Foundation is committed to donating food to
Feeding America. During fiscal 2008, General Mills donated more than $
18 million in food product to Feeding America, the largest hunger
relief organization in the United States. General Mills has partnered
with Feeding America for more than 25 years and remains one of the
nation's top 10 donors.

For more information on how to donate to the America Red Cross and
Feeding America http://www.redcross.org/ or
http://www.feedingamerica.org/about_us/feeding_america.html.

About General Mills

One of the world's leading food companies, General Mills operates
in over 100 countries and markets more than 100 consumer brands,
including Cheerios, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Betty Crocker,
Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Progresso, Cascadian Farm, Muir
Glen, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.,
General Mills had fiscal 2008 global net sales of US$14.9 billion,
including the company's $1.2 billion proportionate share of joint
venture net sales. Visit www.generalmills.com.

About General Mills Foundation

The General Mills Foundation, celebrating more than 50 years of
giving, focuses on nourishing communities. In fiscal 2008, General
Mills awarded $87 million to communities across the country,
representing more than 5 percent of company pretax profits that year.
Of the total, the General Mills Foundation contributed more than $21
million in grants in the targeted areas of youth nutrition and
fitness, social services, education, and arts and culture. Visit
www.generalmills/foundation.com.

General Mills
Heidi Geller, 763-764-6364

Copyright Business Wire 2008