Enables School Food Service Professionals to Upgrade Menus, Exceed Enhanced Nutritional Goals and Meet Bottom Line Demands New Food Packaging Style Eases Preparation and Minimizes Waste

NASHVILLE, TN., July 16, 2001, (PR Newswire) --- Cherokee Foods is emerging as a global leader in the supply of so-called "clean protein" to the world of school food services, where the goal of attracting and keeping the student and faculty universe "coming back" for more has never been as challenging. At the same time, culinary standards expected by this demanding market are especially difficult to deliver—in the era of branded foods and at a time when a growing number of people eat a majority of meals away from home.

Cherokee Foods extends its introduction of a radically different method of formulating food products intended to raise the bar for student health and nutrition for the entire industry at the 55^TH annual national conference of the American School Food Service Association (ASFSA), opening tomorrow in Nashville, Tennessee. Members of the company’s senior management team, led by Ms. Lenna Gordon, president, are presenting their products to the more than 3,000 school nutrition and food service directors expected to attend.

"Just as the American School Food Service Association takes seriously its role as protectors and enhancers of student health and nutrition, we built the basis for our company on this critically important goal—that of challenging the notion that delivering an enhanced tier of foods and sound economics didn’t mix," Ms. Gordon said. "We have proven that it is possible, practical and preferable to produce ‘clean protein’ products for the school food services market."

People, kids included, have elevated expectations these days about their food options, she added. The changing landscape in the food industry led Cherokee Foods, a Lawrenceville, Georgia-based food company, to create menu options for school food services that answer the taste and nutritional sense of what people really want to eat—and in the process, keeping more kids "on campus" for meals instead of seeking outside "fast food." In doing this, the company found a way to deliver enhanced products that provide healthy and better tasting foods to students and others in this market segment much differently than their competitors.

Ms. Gordon directs a team of experts in the creation of innovative food products that have been accepted by a growing share of school districts across the nation: "We began with a focus--to provide the kids of America with better quality products and the school food service directors who feed them with a way they could enhance the ‘real food’ aspect of what they serve. This is one of the USDA’s stated national nutritional goals for children. Most important, our products contain no skin, fillers or other additives and a lower fat content. Cherokee Foods uniquely offers 100% solid muscle and breast meat products that are not offered anywhere else in the school food service marketplace," Ms. Gordon said.

"We are doing this with a focus on positive economics as well, and our per portion cost, with enhanced products, is lower than others in our business providing standard fare," Ms. Gordon offered. Cherokee Foods’ school food service menu choices in the chicken category are formulated with a significantly higher solid muscle content than is currently available to this market. The company’s products do not contain the percentage of filler and additives generally associated with processed foods. "School food service professionals understand what we are doing and why, because we address their primary objectives of delivering maximum quality and nutritional value," Ms. Gordon added.

"Our first priority was to take the commodity food support programs available to schools (CN packaging) and allow school foods service directors to access what is available in a much different, tastier, more nutritious and certainly healthier form," Ms. Gordon stated. "To date, we are receiving very positive feedback to our offerings and our overall company growth is tracking beyond all expectations."

Then there’s another competitive twist that Cherokee Foods offers—and it’s one that has food service directors and their staffs saying "thank you." While competitors are packing their product in non-portioned forty pound bulk boxes, Cherokee has answered a key need—lighter packages that are easier to handle and more efficiently used. "We package our items in 20 pound boxes, comprised of 4 five pound bag portions," according to Ms. Gordon, and that has "greatly minimized waste while allowing more efficient handling and preparation."

Cherokee Foods competes for market share with industry giants: Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN), ConAgra (NYSE:CAG), Foster Farms, Goldkist Farms, and Zartic Foods.

Visit Cherokee Foods at http://www.CherokeeFoods.com

Lawrenceville, Georgia-based Cherokee Foods provides USDA-certified and inspected enhanced processing of commodity foods for schools, healthcare facilities, military and prison market segments for distribution in the United States. The firm's overall corporate theme mirrors the goals of the professionals it supports-food service directors nationwide: to provide exceptional tastes and superior values.

SOURCE Cherokee Foods, LLC