MINSTER, Ohio, Sept.1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The Dannon Company, Inc. today awarded the Minster Athletic Boosters a Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant totaling $30,000 in support of the Minster Memorial Field improvement project, Honoring the Past While Building for the Future. Dannon presented Minster Athletic Boosters with the award during a ceremony that preceded Minster High School's first 2012-2013 home varsity football game.

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Honoring the Past While Building for the Future will provide Minster High School students and the broader town of Minster with a fully renovated athletic complex, new track, field space and additional revamped physical facilities. The award builds upon existing nutrition and fitness programs that began at Minster Local Schools through a partnership with the Auglaize/Mercer County YMCAa partnership that, in 2006, was awarded the very first Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant in Ohio.

"With this grant, Dannon is helping provide all of Minster's residents with an essential means of reaching their healthy lifestyle and fitness goals," said Bruce Thobe, president of Minster Athletic Boosters. "We're honored to have Dannon as our partner in our efforts to promote active lifestyles for all of Minster's residents."

"The Dannon Company is happy to support the Boosters' efforts to provide a safe fitness facility for all of Minster's residents," said Gayle Binney, Dannon's corporate responsibility manager. "For the last 70 years, Dannon has created great-tasting yogurt that provides essential daily nutrients like calcium, protein and potassium while also promoting healthy lifestyles and initiatives that blend nutrition with fitness. We encourage people to eat one yogurt every day as part of their three recommended servings of low-fat dairy every day."

Dannon established the Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant to promote childhood nutrition education in each of the four communities where a Dannon facility is located. As part of the program, Dannon contributes $30,000 to one non-profit organization in each of the following communities ($120,000 in total) Auglaize, Mercer, Darke, or Shelby County, Ohio; Salt Lake County, Utah; Tarrant County, Texas; and Westchester County, New York, for programs that nurture healthy eating habits among children. Over the last seven years, programs funded through the Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant have reached more than 17,000 children in Ohio.

Today's grant ceremony, held just prior to Minster High School's first varsity football home game, was attended by Ohio State Representative John Adams, Auglaize County Commissioner John Bergman, Auglaize County Commissioner Don Regula, Minster Athletic Boosters President Bruce Thobe; Dannon Corporate Responsibility Manager Gayle Binney; and Dannon's Minster, Ohio Senior Plant Director Doug Roy.

About the Minster Athletic Booster ClubThe Minster Athletic Booster Club has been in service for more than 30 years, and is dedicated to providing support for Minster's student athletes and financial backing to improve athletic facilities and equipment for all sports teams in the school district and community. The Minster Athletic Booster Club serves all seventh through twelfth graders (455 students) in the Minster school district, and has to date been responsible for the construction of a full athletic complex, latex track, strength facility, football stadium, baseball field and more. The Minster Athletic Booster Club help the children of Minster, Ohio understand that good nutrition and physical activity go hand-in-hand in creating a healthy lifestyle.

About Honoring the Past while Building for the FutureThe Minster Athletic Booster Club's Minster Memorial Field improvement project, Honoring the Past While Building for the Future, is a program designed to assist the youth of Minster Local Schools in their efforts to maintain personal fitness and healthy living. The program provides the local community with a fully renovated athletic complex, set to open in the fall of 2012. This award builds upon existing nutrition and fitness programs initiated at Minster Local Schools when they partnered with the Auglaize/Mercer County YMCA to receive the first Dannon Next Generation Nutrition Grant awarded in Ohio in 2006. Today, the Minster Local Schools include healthy meal programs, nutrition label reading, taste tests, and more during the school year to ensure that Minster students know how to build a strong body by eating healthy foods and staying active.

About The Dannon Company, Inc.Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2012 and headquartered in White Plains, New York, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, West Jordan, UT, and Portland, OR. Dannon makes more than 200 different flavors, styles and sizes of cultured refrigerated and frozen dairy products to serve its retail and foodservice customers. In its pursuit to bring health through food to as many people as possible, Dannon is committed to Americans enjoying yogurt every day as one of the three recommended daily servings of dairy.

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The Dannon Company Awards Minster Athletic Boosters The 2012 Dannon Next Generation Nutrition® Grant