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CAROL'S KITCHEN NEWS RELEASE (Read media alert)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jim McConnell, 951-845-9202

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Sempra Energy Foundation to grant Carol’s Kitchen, Inc. $5,000 as part of its Helping People in Need Program

The long-standing Southern California utility helps Carol’s Kitchen continue feeding the hungry in the San Gorgonio Pass

(Cabazon, Calif.)—Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009—As part of its “Helping People in Need” program, Sempra Energy Foundation will grant Carol’s Kitchen, Inc. $5,000 to help the nonprofit organization continue to feed the hungry in the San Gorgonio Pass. The event will be at the Cabazon Community Center (50390 Carmen Ave., corner of Broadway and Carmen, Cabazon, CA 92230) on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009, Noon (12 p.m.)–the media is welcome to arrive at 11:30 a.m. for interviews.

Carol’s Kitchen currently serves 3,000 meals a week at seven kitchens, Monday through Friday, in Beaumont, Banning and Cabazon. The attendance has been on the rise since the start of the U.S. economic recession, with Carol’s Kitchen numbers growing by 40 percent in 2008. In Cabazon, about 28.9 percent of families live below the poverty level, according to the Census Designated Place Program.

“Carol's Kitchen plays a critical role in helping to meet the growing needs in our communities,” remarked Carolyn R. Williams, senior manager of community partnerships at Sempra Energy in an e-mail to Carol’s Kitchen. “This grant is intended to recognize the important work you do in your local community.” The Sempra Energy Foundation is the 501(c)(3) private foundation of Sempra Energy, a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2008 revenues of nearly $11 billion. The Sempra Energy companies’ 13,600 employees serve more than 29 million consumers worldwide.

The “Helping People in Need” initiative represents the ongoing commitment by the Sempra Energy Foundation and the Sempra Energy family of companies to assist families in need. Carol’s Kitchen was selected along with five other organizations to receive grant funding as part of this program. The program awarded $40,500 total to Carol’s Kitchen and the following organizations: Wildlife Research Institute, Placentia-Yorba Meals on Wheels, The Southern California Salvation Army, Compton, Visalia Emergency Aid Council and Community Action Partnership of Kern.

“We are grateful and honored that the Sempra Energy Foundation selected Carol’s Kitchen as a grant recipient,” says Carol’s Kitchen executive director Jim McConnell. “We will use their funding to continue to serving the hungry and providing a place of fellowship and compassion in the Pass area. This award could not come at a better time. Our kitchen attendance continues to rise in this economy.”

About Carol's Kitchen, Inc.

Carol's Kitchen is a Southern California-based non-profit organization located in the San Gorgonio Pass. Since 1998, the organization has served more than 500,000 hot meals to the hungry and currently serves about 3,000 meals per week. The only requirement for Carol's Kitchen guests is that they are hungry. No one is ever turned away.

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