Sabrina Byran is partnering with Mission Foods in the fight against childhood obesity.

Kids' Health in the Balance: Cheetah Girl and Mission Foods Join Forces

Two Powerhouses Shine Spotlight on Non-Profit Organization to Encourage Kids to Eat Healthy

Sabrina Bryan, member of the multi-platinum recording act The Cheetah Girls

IRVING, TX--(Marketwire - April 10, 2008) - There has been a dramatic increase in childhood obesity in the United States(1) during the past 20 years and results from a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(2) indicate that an estimated 17 percent of children and adolescents ages 2-19 years are overweight. Mission Foods, one of the leading tortilla manufacturers in the United States, is educating moms on how to create easy, nutritious lunch and snack ideas and they've brought some "star power" to their cause.

Sabrina Bryan, a member of the multi-platinum recording act The Cheetah Girls as well as star of the highly successful Disney movie series of the same name, is partnering with Mission Foods in the fight against childhood obesity. With today's busy families finding fewer free moments to prepare nutritious home-cooked meals, Sabrina and Mission Foods have teamed up to show teenagers and their moms how to make quick, easy and nutritious meals using one of the most versatile items in their kitchen pantries, tortillas.

"Students these days are bombarded with lots of unhealthy choices," explains Bryan. "That's what attracted me to partnering with Mission Foods. We're both committed to providing the resources and nutritional elements for a healthy lifestyle. And at missionmenus.com there are tons of great tasting, easy and nutritious tortillas recipes that kids of all ages can enjoy."

The pop star is also the national spokesperson for Healthy Kids Challenge (HKC), a non-profit organization which promotes healthy eating and lifestyle to school-aged children all over the US. This fall, Healthy Kids Challenge introduces its first large-scale national event, "Healthy Kids Dance for Health," sponsored by Mission Foods. It's an initiative and fundraising campaign to promote staying fit using dance. As many as 2200 schools in 200 cities are expected to participate. Events that raise the most money will be eligible to win great prizes, with a grand prize that includes a personal appearance and dance lessons from Sabrina Bryan.

"Obesity tends to persist through life," says Vickie James, a registered dietician and founder of the Healthy Kids Challenge. "Our mission is to help all kids, regardless of weight, have more opportunities and develop healthy habits with eating and physical activity."

Mission Foods will also be sponsoring HKC's Kids C.A.N. Recipe Challenge, an annual recipe contest for 7th & 8th grade classes across the U.S at the beginning of each school year. It helps kids learn the fundamentals of how to make healthy choices for themselves. You can hear firsthand why Sabrina has joined Mission and the Healthy Kids Challenge organization in caring for our next generation, at www.missionmenus.com.

About Mission Foods

Mission Foods, headquartered in Irving (Dallas area), Texas and Gruma S.A.B. de C.V., a Mexican corporation, was founded in 1949, and is one of the largest tortilla manufacturers in the United States. Gruma S.A. de C.V. is the parent company of Mission Foods (Gruma Corporation) and is a leading Mexican producer of corn masa flour and tortilla products. It has operations in Mexico, the United States, Central and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.missionmenus.com.

About Healthy Kids Challenge

Originally created in 1998 for Cooking Light Magazine by nutritionist and registered dietician Vickie James, RD, LD, the non-profit organization began as a pilot program to guide schools in providing kids with simple and fun ways to support healthy eating and physical activity lifestyle habits. For more information, log onto www.healthykidschallenge.org.