Press Release

Attorney General Announces that Settlement Proceeds from a Multistate Lawsuit to be Distributed to the Food Bank of Alaska

November 2, 2004

(Juneau) - Attorney General Gregg Renkes announced today that the Food Bank of Alaska will receive a check for over $12,000 as part of a multistate settlement with Salton, Inc., the manufacturer of the George Foreman contact grill.

"The settlement agreement required attorneys general for each state to submit a proposal to the court for distributing their state's share of the proceeds," said Renkes. "Under the agreement the funds are required to benefit health or nutrition-related causes. The Food Bank of Alaska fills a critical function in Alaska and was an obvious choice to put these proceeds to good use."

The lawsuit, filed in New York, alleged that Salton, Inc. engaged in anticompetitive conduct through an illegal resale price maintenance, exclusive dealing and monopolization scheme. The purpose of this activity was to maintain artificially inflated prices for George Foreman grills by preventing retailers from discounting and by excluding rivals from the marketplace.

Alaska's prorated share of the settlement was for $17,623. Renkes approved a distribution providing for $12,323 to go to the Food Bank of Alaska. The remaining $5300 will go to the Department of Health and Social Services, Office of Children's Services, Family Nutrition Unit to reprint the Alaska Native Foods Resource Guide and to create and distribute food demo kits to promote healthy eating in Alaska communities.

"This contribution comes at a great time for us as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday," said Susannah Morgan, Executive Director for the Food Bank of Alaska. "Every dollar we receive means five pounds of food we can distribute. This distribution translates into over 63,000 pounds of food and over 42,000 meals for Alaskans."

In FY04 the Food Bank distributed 4.3 million pounds of food to over 300 partner agencies in over 70 communities across the state. The Food Bank partners with soup kitchens, tribal organizations, domestic violence shelters, faith-based programs, day care programs, senior centers and other anti-hunger agencies.

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.