Nash Finch Continues Its Pledge to Nurture Tomorrow’s Leaders by Donating Nearly 60,000 Books in Two Years

Nash-Finch Company (Nasdaq: NAFC), a Minneapolis-based food distributor, believes that books are more than paper and ink; they are passports to a better life. A recent study shows that while in middle income neighborhoods the ratio of books per child is 13 to 1, in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children¹. To do its part to help change this disheartening statistic, Nash Finch Company’s NFC Foundation demonstrated its strong commitment to literacy by donating reading books for children to 12 Twin Cities organizations, through its successful Feeding Imagination educational program.

At an event held today at the Children’s Museum in St. Paul, Minnesota, the NFC Foundation, Nash Finch’s charitable giving organization, donated 12,000 books to a wide range of organizations including charter schools, nonprofits, and the Minnesota Literacy Council. This event brings the total number of donated books to nearly 60,000 – a significant accomplishment since the launch of the Feeding Imagination Program just two years ago. The Feeding Imagination Program is an educational initiative launched in 2006 through the NFC Foundation to provide reading books to elementary school children, especially in areas with a high degree of poverty and need.

Nash Finch senior executives were joined at the event by the Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives – Margaret Anderson Kelliher, St. Paul Education Director Vallay Varro, and local award-winning children’s book author John Coy. Children from New Visions School in Minneapolis, and Excell Academy, a charter school located in Brooklyn Park, also took part in the event, along with representatives from ten other agencies, most of which have benefited from the Feeding Imagination program since its inception.

"During this challenging economic time, many corporations may feel the need to pull back on their community involvement,” says Nash Finch President and CEO Alec Covington. "Our country’s future, however, depends on our continued support. Research reported by First Book shows that more than 80 percent of pre-school and after-school programs serving children from low-income families have no age-appropriate books². We want to demonstrate that it is more important than ever to continue giving back to our community. Reading is essential to creating the strong leaders and healthy economic infrastructure of tomorrow.”

Covington, Coy, Kelliher, and Varro spoke during the November 20^th event stressing the importance of reading and noting the significant efforts made by Nash Finch Company to help provide books to kids in need. Nash Finch senior executives were also present and read to the children at the event.

"This is the fourth Feeding Imagination event sponsored by Nash Finch. We also collect books on an ongoing basis through our retail stores, our distribution centers, and at our corporate office. In the last two years, these donations helped us to give children access to books that otherwise simply might not have been available,” concluded Brian Numainville, Sr. Director, Research and Public Relations, and Chair of the NFC Foundation, Nash Finch’s charitable giving arm.

The schools and agencies benefiting from the Children’s Museum event include:

• Academia Cesar Chavez School
• Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Twin Cities
• Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities
• Excell Academy
• Fraser
• Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Minnesota
• Minnesota Literacy Council
• New Vision School
• Perspectives Family Center
• Salvation Army Eastside After School Program
• St. Paul Schools - 21st Century Community Learning Centers
• World Vision - The Storehouse

The public may contribute to the NFC Foundation’s efforts at any time by donating new and gently used books, which can be delivered directly to Nash Finch’s corporate offices located at 7600 France Avenue South in Edina.

Those interested in learning more about the NFC Foundation, or applying for assistance, should visit www.nfcfoundation.org.

About Nash Finch

Nash Finch is a Fortune 1000 company and one of the leading food distribution companies in the United States. Nash Finch’s core business, food distribution, serves independent retailers and military commissaries in 31 states, the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Azores and Egypt. The Company also owns and operates a base of retail stores, primarily supermarkets under the Econofoods(R), Family Thrift Center(R), AVANZA(R) and Sun Mart(R) trade names. Further information is available on the Company's website, www.nashfinch.com.

¹ Handbook of Early Literacy Research, Volume 2, 2006 (edited by Susan Neuman and David Dickinson)

² Literacy in the U.S. – www.firstbook.org

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