General Mills Stays Fit Three Years Running with California's 'Governor's Challenge'

The General Mills Foundation is providing $100,000 to support the annual California Governor’s Challenge, an initiative encouraging Californians to be active 30 to 60 minutes per day, at least three days a week. General Mills remains committed to promoting healthy lifestyles by partnering with the California effort to motivate people to get active.

The Governor’s Challenge is part of a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that is raising awareness of fitness in everyday life, especially for youth. The Governor’s Challenge encourages all California residents to start a physical activity regimen that will spark an interest in staying physically fit for life. This year, more than 160,000 people took the challenge up from 69,000 last year, beating the goal of 150,000 sign-ups.

"General Mills is excited to be a continued sponsor of a successful program like the California Governor’s Challenge for the third year in a row,” said Ellen Luger, executive director of the General Mills Foundation. "They do a wonderful job of engaging California residents to make changes that will last a lifetime.”

"I’m thrilled that our Council has been able to promote physical activity and fitness without adding any burden on California taxpayers,” said Jake Steinfeld, Chairman of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. "Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, like General Mills, we were able to encourage a record number of California children and teachers to take the Governor’s Challenge this year.”

Support to programs like the Governor’s Challenge has been a long-standing tradition for General Mills. In 1996, General Mills started the Box Tops for Education program in California and has donated over $11.6 million to California schools since its inception.

In 2002, General Mills started the Champions for Healthy Kids grants program – a partnership between the General Mills Foundation, the American Dietetic Association Foundation and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports – supporting youth nutrition and fitness in California and across the country. Each year, 50 grassroots efforts to improve the lives of children across the country are recognized and given grant money to support their programs and develop new ideas to grow nutritional efforts. This year, the Champions for Healthy Kids program celebrated six years by hosting grant recipients at the General Mills corporate headquarters for a two-day workshop to share and learn best practices for operating their programs.

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, Häagen-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 the General Mills Foundation

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