ME&RO DEDICATES SALE PROCEEDS TO THE MAYOR'S FUND TO ADVANCE NEW YORK CITY

On November 20, 2008 Me&Ro jewelry held a reception at its Nolita retail store to benefit the City's new "Fun Food, Smart Food" youth nutrition program. The reception was co-hosted by First Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris, Deborah Krulewitch and Jessica Seinfeld. All sale proceeds from the event will help support food and materials for the program's classes, as well as educational trips to greenmarkets, chef's kitchens and farms to supplement the classroom work.

Fun Food, Smart Food is a 12-week cooking and nutrition program for middle school-age youth (grades 5-8). It empowers young people to develop knowledge of and love for cooking, become conscious consumers, and make healthy food choices. The series of two-hour classes are held at after school sites and include both hands-on cooking and a stimulating nutrition discussion. Field trips to greenmarkets, grocery stores and farms reinforce classroom lessons, and the program ends with a final event in which students share their new skills and knowledge either with their families or peers at the program site. The train-the-trainer model will help sustain this program in future years. Fun Food is being launched this fall in East/Central Harlem and Central Brooklyn and will expand to the South Bronx and Jamaica in fall 2009.

The program is a collaboration of the Department of Youth and Community Development and the Children's Aid Society, in partnership with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Department of Parks & Recreation, and Office of the Food Policy Coordinator. The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City is supporting this pilot program through a generous grant provided by Jessica Seinfeld, Founder of Baby Buggy and author of Deceptively Delicious, which presents creative, healthy recipes for kids. Baby Buggy is also providing take-home groceries for the students so they can prepare the meals at home for their friends and family.

Me&Ro is extending its offer and will donate 20% from sales when customers mention the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City until December 24, 2008 at its store (241 Elizabeth Street, NYC).

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CONTACT: Melissa Jones      (212) 788-7794