Minnesota Vikings, Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Second Harvest Heartland to Help...

Minnesota Vikings, Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Second Harvest Heartland to
Help Secure 200,000 Meals for Hungry Minnesota Children This Summer

Vikings Children's Fund Summer Lunch Program aims to increase participation in
the USDA's Summer Food Service Program

MINNEAPOLIS, May 27 /PRNewswire/ --The Minnesota Vikings, Hunger Solutions
Minnesota and Second Harvest Heartland today announced the official launch of
the Vikings Children's Fund Summer Lunch Program
(http://missingmeals.org/summer-feeding/), which will help secure up to
200,000 additional meals for Minnesota children this summer. The Vikings have
pledged $92,000 to the effort, which is helping to expand the USDA-sponsored
Summer Food Service Program.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090527/CG23050LOGO)

"The Vikings Children's Fund aims to positively impact the well-being of our
children and help provide them with the means to be healthy, strong and
vibrant members of our community as they grow," said Steve LaCroix, vice
president of sales and marketing, chief marketing officer with the Minnesota
Vikings. "Proper nutrition will always be essential to a child's well-being,
which is why the Vikings are honored to participate in this program with
Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Second Harvest Heartland."

During the school year, 270,000 Minnesota school children receive free or
reduced-price meals but just 54,000 children receive free or reduced-price
meals during the summer months, according to the Minnesota Department of
Education, which administers both the National School Lunch Program and the
Summer Food Service Program.

"There is an incredible discrepancy in the number of children receiving
nourishing meals during the summer months compared to the school year," said
Alice Seagren, Minnesota's Education Commissioner. "We know that many
Minnesota families struggle to provide healthy and satisfying meals for their
children during the summer, which is why the USDA's Summer Food Service
Program is so critical. We are grateful for the generosity, ingenuity and
leadership the Minnesota Vikings, Hunger Solutions Minnesota and Second
Harvest Heartland have provided in improving the participation rate in
Minnesota."

One of the leading contributing factors to low participation rates in the
Summer Food Service program in Minnesota is a lack of sites that serve food.
While more than 2,000 schools statewide served free or reduced-price meals
during the 2007/2008 school year, only 370 sites served them during the summer
of 2008. The Vikings Children's Fund Summer Lunch Program is helping to expand
the Summer Food Service Program by using grant money from the Minnesota
Vikings to secure new meal sites and expand the reach of existing sites.

"A lack of access to the food they need is one of the greatest barriers to
Minnesota children participating in the Summer Food Service program," said Rob
Zeaske, executive director of Second Harvest Heartland. "Already, the Vikings
Children's Fund Summer Lunch Program has added more than 40 new summer meal
sites statewide, which will help us significantly in achieving our goal of
securing up to 200,000 additional meals for eligible children this summer."

According to Zeaske, securing an additional 200,000 meals for Minnesota
children this summer will result in a 14 percent increase in the number of
total free or reduced-price meals served when school is out. In 2008, 1.4
million meals were served in Minnesota through the Summer Food Service
Program. The Vikings Children's Fund Summer Lunch Program aims to increase
that number to 1.6 million.

"We know that the need for hunger relief has never been greater. Weak economic
conditions and rising food insecurity, especially as it affects child hunger,
make it absolutely essential that we increase access to safety-net nutrition
programs like the Summer Food Service Program," said Colleen Moriarty,
executive director of Hunger Solutions Minnesota. "The Vikings Children's Fund
Summer Lunch Program is a wonderful example of how collaborative efforts can
truly benefit those in need."

For more information on the Vikings Children's Fund Summer Lunch Program,
visit
http://www.hungersolutions.org/vikings-childrens-fund-summer-lunch-program.

About the Vikings Children's Fund
The Vikings Children's Fund is a means for Minnesota Vikings players, coaches,
staff and their families to focus their community support. The organization's
mission is to rally the resources of the Vikings, the University of Minnesota
Department of Pediatrics, the corporate community, and fans in an effort to
support the many needs of children's charities throughout the Upper Midwest.
Since its inception, the Vikings Children's Fund has distributed nearly $8
million in grants. To learn more, visit www.vikings.com.

About Hunger Solutions Minnesota
Hunger Solutions Minnesota (HSM) is a comprehensive hunger relief organization
that works to end hunger in Minnesota. The organization takes action to assure
food security for all Minnesotans by supporting agencies that provide food to
those in need, advancing sound public policy, and guiding grassroots advocacy.
HSM advocates for the maximum use of all federal public nutrition dollars
available and works to improve low-income Minnesotans' access to all nutrition
programs. HSM recommends that people struggling with hunger and poverty screen
themselves for public program benefits by visiting www.bridgetobenefits.org.

About Second Harvest Heartland
Second Harvest Heartland is the Upper Midwest's largest hunger-relief
organization, with a mission of ending hunger through community partnerships.
41 million pounds of grocery products were distributed last year to hungry
seniors, families and children through more than 1,000 non-profit member
agencies and programs, including food shelves, soup kitchens, shelters, senior
centers, faith-based organizations, and children's after-school programs
serving 59 counties in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. For each $1 donated,
Second Harvest Heartland can distribute more than $9 worth of grocery products
for those in need. For further information, visit www.2harvest.org or call
651.484.5117.

SOURCE Minnesota Vikings

Patty Gibbs of Patty Gibbs & Company PR, +1-651-653-7302,
patty@pattygibbscompany.com, for Minnesota Vikings