Download free Uncle Ben's recipes and benefit Feeding America

As the holidays draw near and you look forward to spending time with family and friends, get creative with the recipes you make and the parties you throw. UNCLE BEN’S®, the number one rice brand in America, has partnered with celebrity event designer Preston Bailey to help hosts make holiday entertaining fun and easy while doing something for a good cause.

Feeding America is the nation’s largest food bank network and the largest charitable hunger-relief organization in the country. Since its partnership with UNCLE BEN’S® began in March 2007, the two have combined to open seven UNCLE BEN’S®- sponsored Kids Cafes around the country. The Kids Cafe program provides free meals and snacks to some of the 12 million children in the United States that are hungry or at risk of going hungry each year.

Preston’s tips for ways to give back this holiday season include:

Visit www.UncleBensGivesBack.com.

Visit the website between Nov. 3 and Dec. 31 to download the free UNCLE BEN’S® Family Holiday Entertaining Guide, featuring recipes and tip from Bailey and recipes from Michele M. Powers, RD. With each download, UNCLE BEN’S® will donate $1 to Feeding America. (A maximum donation of $250,000 will be made in 2008.)

Host a Theme Party for Charity. Organize a toy drive for a local organization and ask guests bring a toy for a child in need. Gather around the tree after dinner to wrap the gifts. You can even play the part of Santa – answering the door in costume.

Volunteer Your Time. After enjoying a wonderful meal, head out to volunteer at a local soup kitchen. Even better – ask guests to bring non-perishable food products, such as UNCLE BEN’S® rice, pasta, and canned soup and vegetables, to deliver to the food shelter when you visit.

Holiday Recipes from Preston Bailey

Bailey has created three delicious dishes to accompany any special meal:

UNCLE BEN’S® Wild Rice Salad with Cranberry and Hazelnuts: A colorful holiday side dish, made with UNCLE BEN'S® Long Grain & Wild Rice with the bold flavors of hazelnuts and cranberries. Peanuts add an extra crunch and health benefit.

UNCLE BEN’S® Rice, Lentil and Pomegranate Pilaf: This modern take on classic pilaf combines UNCLE BEN’S® Rice with pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

UNCLE BEN’S® Savory Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Parmesan Rice Quiche: A delicious dish made with sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese that comes out of the oven with a golden bubbly crust. Perfect for a holiday brunch or any cold winter night.


About UNCLE BEN’S®
UNCLE BEN'S®,the number one rice brand in America, is proud to offer a wide range of rice dishes with flavors and textures that will help bring more to your meals, both for convenient side dishes and savory main courses. UNCLE BEN'S® offers a wide variety of white, whole grain brown, and flavored rices in cook times ranging from 30 minutes to 90 seconds, as well as rice for food service operations such as restaurants, schools and hospitals. The first mass-produced parboiled rice, UNCLE BEN'S® is the top-selling branded rice in the United States and products can be found in more than 100 countries worldwide. UNCLE BEN'S® is manufactured by Mars Food US, part of the United States food, snack and pet care operations of Mars, Incorporated. For more information, visit www.unclebens.com.

About Feeding America™ (Formerly America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network)
Feeding America provides individuals and familiesfacing hungerwith the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks operate 63,000 agencies that address hunger through emergency food assistance and programs. For more information on how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit www.feedingamerica.org.

*Uncle Ben’s is the Number one rice brand according to IRI, Infoscan, Food Only, July 2007.