For Immediate Release:

Local purveyors of fine vanillas and flavors encourage employees to give back this October 10

WAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS (September 17, 2014) – On October 10, 2014, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas will participate in the first-ever Embrace Hunger Relief Day by volunteering at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville, Illinois.

Friday, October 10, 2014, has been declared as Embrace Hunger Relief Day, the first nationwide day of service for the Specialty Food Association. On this day, members of the Specialty Food Association across the country will volunteer and help aid in food recovery and hunger relief.

"We are encouraging all employees, full-time and temporary, to participate in Embrace Hunger Relief Day," said Matt Nielsen, COO of Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Inc. "Our family sees volunteering to assist those in need as an important way to give back, and we work to instill those values into the company as well."

Employees of the Waukegan-based company will spend the morning at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville, a non-profit that utilizes volunteers to pack healthy, nutritious meals that get distributed to those in need around the world.

"Feed Our Starving Children is an organization that is close to the heart of Nielsen-Massey," said Nielsen. "Several of the areas served by the organization are countries from which we source our vanilla beans, including Mexico, Madagascar, Indonesia and Uganda. The people in these regions do so much to support our industry; donating a day to provide them with nutritious meals is just a small way for us to give back to those that give so much to us."

In addition to participating in Embrace Hunger Relief Day, the Specialty Food Association has created a Specialty Food Foundation to support the Association's strategic initiative to become Citizens of the World and make a difference. Through social entrepreneurism and the passionate examples set forth by Association members, Specialty Food Foundation will work to reduce hunger and increase food recovery efforts via grant making, education and industry events. Members of the Association have already donated $250,000 to the Foundation, which is scheduled to make its first round of grants in December 2014.

About Nielsen-Massey Vanillas
Throughout its more than 100 year history, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas has earned its reputation as a manufacturer of the finest extracts in the world. The full line of Nielsen-Massey's Pure Vanilla products include: Vanilla Beans and Extracts from Madagascar, Tahiti and Mexico; sugar and alcohol-free Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Powder; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste; Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Sugar, Organic Fairtrade Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract and Organic Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Beans.

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas also offers a full line of Pure Flavors: Pure Chocolate Extract, Pure Almond Extract, Pure Orange Extract, Pure Lemon Extract, Pure Coffee Extract, Pure Peppermint Extract, Orange Blossom Water and Rose Water. All Nielsen-Massey products are All-Natural, Allergen-Free, GMO-Free, and certified Kosher and Gluten-Free. The company is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois, with production facilities in Waukegan and Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.

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Photos are available upon request. For more information about Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, contact:
Gardi Wilks, gwilks@savoragency.com
Savor – the food agency, 847.556.7511