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SUDBURY'S SCHWARTZ FAMILY WINS MENU MAKEOVER CONTEST AND VISIT FROM CELEBRITY CHEF JON ASHTON

COURTESY OF CABOT CREAMERY COOPERATIVE

CABOT, VT. (September 6, 2007) – Meals in the household of one busy Sudbury, Mass. family will get a fresh new perspective after winning the Parents & Kids/Cabot Creamery Cooperative Menu Makeover Competition. Chosen out of nearly 100 entries for creativity and originality, Nancy and Brian Schwartz and their three children (4½, 9 and 12) will enjoy a visit by celebrity chef Jon Ashton in September. Chef Jon will first listen to their challenges, forage in their fridge and peek around their pantry, help prepare a shopping list. After their shopping spree courtesy of Stop & Shop, Chef Jon will return to the Schwartz kitchen and teach them how to create a few delicious, healthy home-cooked meals that meet the family’s specific tastes, preferences and dietary restrictions. The family received free Cabot product vouchers and a $200 Stop & Shop gift certificate to buy all their ingredients for their makeover.

Participants were asked to describe in 50 words or less why their family deserved a menu makeover, and the Schwartz family entry was both creative and symbolic of what a lot of American working families are struggling with. In her entry, Nancy Schwartz wrote, “Cook up ‘a Storm’ for our family? Every day we have an unpleasant meterological occurance in our house! When I ask my kids what they want for dinner, it is like a tornado! Three kids, three different cuisines each night. My 12-year-old is easy. My nine-year-old only eats brown food like pasta, chicken nuggets or fish sticks, and my 4 ½ year old follows that brother’s lead. My husband and I are an afterthought. My goal is to get the kids to agree on at least one staple and then I try to work around that item. Help!”

As an internationally renowned chef and spokesperson, Jon Ashton believes food is a social exchange that connects people and food is a universally understood language that speaks to ones’ senses through aroma, taste and sight. A frequent chef on the national CW show “The Daily Buzz,” Ashton has appeared on the Today Show, The Food Network, Discovery Channel, and many hundreds of food festivals and television shows. He is proud to have a long-term relationship as Cabot Creamery’s spokeschef, helping the Vermont-based dairy cooperative educate families nationwide about health and nutrition.

According to Roberta MacDonald, vice president of marketing for Cabot Cooperative, “It is a challenge to get the entire family around the dinner table to enjoy a healthy meal together. This contest creates a community of parents and Vermont cheddar cheese fans who are willing to share their meal preparation stories. I congratulate the Schwartz family on making the leap together towards better nutrition and healthier eating habits, and invite any family to visit the Cabot website for great tips and recipes.”

According to Heather Kempskie, editor of Parents and Kids, an award-winning monthly parenting publication serving Greater Boston, “Mealtime should be a relaxing time to share a meal and reconnect with your family. Instead, many Parents and Kids readers describe it as the most challenging part of the day. We are thrilled to be able to provide a solution for one local family.”

Cabot Creamery Cooperative has been in continuous operation in Vermont since 1919 and is best known as makers of “The World’s Best Cheddar,” honored twice at World Championship Cheese Contests. Cabot Light Cheddar has been named “Best Reduced Fat Cheese” by the American Cheese Society and has been the top-scoring cheddar in the “Reduced Fat Cheeses” category of both the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest and the biennial World Championship Cheese Contest. Cabot is owned by the dairy farm families of Agri-Mark, the Northeast’s premier dairy cooperative.

For healthy recipes, nutritional advice and more, visit www.cabotcheese.coop