Sundance Channel & Kashi Showcase Community Leaders Helping People Connect with their Natural Environment in a New Series, "Grai

Corporate Social Responsibility Press Release

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9.05.2008 - 11:50am ET

Sundance Channel & Kashi Showcase Community Leaders Helping People Connect with their Natural Environment in a New Series, "Grains of Change"

Short-Form HD Series Profiles Advocates for Natural Lifestyles

(CSRwire) - September 5, 2008 - Sundance Channel and Kashi Company, the premier natural food company, today announced a new branded entertainment platform with a short-form series titled Grains of Change. Reflecting Kashi's commitment to helping people make positive changes in their own lives, the series profiles seven change agents across the U.S. who are dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles and greater connections to the natural world. The details of the series were unveiled today by Kim Gabelmann, Vice President Branded Entertainment and Sponsorship, Sundance Channel.

Shot in high-definition (HD), the intimate one-minute vignettes introduce community leaders discussing the principles and passions that fuel their work as well as what they seek to accomplish. Kashi's Grains of Change will run as interstitial pieces on Sundance Channel beginning Oct.16, 2008, and will be available on sundancechannel.com and Sundance Channel on Demand through the end of the year.

Gabelmann said of the project, "Sundance Channel is committed to working with brands whose values align with ours and those of our viewers. Like Kashi, Sundance Channel is interested in showcasing the work of individuals who are pursuing their visions for positive change in their own lives, communities and respective fields; Grains of Change is a perfect fit for our audience and an ideal platform for highlighting Kashi's mission of helping people to achieve their best lives."

Each segment will focus on an organization that asks us to re-evaluate our daily lives. The organizations represent Grains of Change that act as catalysts for a larger movement encouraging a greater connection to the environment and natural world. The groups to be featured in Kashi's Grains of Change are: Community Harvest/Louella Hill (Providence, R.I.); Greens (R) Restaurant/Annie Somerville (San Francisco, Calif.); Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline (R)/Diane Reeder (Hudson Valley, N.Y.); Algalita Foundation/Dr. Marcus Eriksen (Long Beach, Calif.); Kokua Foundation/Jack & Kim Johnson (Haleiwa, Hawaii); Green Roofs for Healthy Cities/Steven Peck (Toronto, Canada); and Greenmarket/Michael Hurwitz (New York, N.Y.).

"We are grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with Sundance Channel on this initiative, which helps organizations find creative and useful ways to reach their health and wellness goals," said Sarah Ceccarelli, nutritionist and senior brand manager for Kashi. "At Kashi, we believe that living a natural lifestyle goes beyond just food and also represents the way in which we interconnect with others and our environment."

"Grains of Change" - each segment will air as interstitial short from content during prime time on the evening listed below.

Thursday, October 16th
Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline (R)/Diane Reeder – Hudson Valley, NY (with locations across the country)
Share Our Strength's Operation Frontline (R) is a groundbreaking nutrition education program that connects families with food by teaching them how to prepare healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget. Professional chefs and nutritionists volunteer their time and expertise to lead hands-on courses that show adults, teens and kids how to purchase and prepare nutritious foods in healthful, safe and tasty ways. Operation Frontline(R) has reached more than 45,000 families across the country since 1993. Diane Reeder leads the effort in the Hudson Valley area, sharing the Operation Frontline (R) curriculum and her enthusiasm for food education with community members of all ages.

Thursday, October 23rd
Greens(R) Restaurant /Annie Somerville – San Francisco, CA
Greens (R) Restaurant began in 1979 as a vegetarian restaurant owned by the San Francisco Zen Center, staffed by practicing Zen Buddhists featuring organic produce they had grown at Green Gulch Farm. Today, Greens (R) Restaurant is one of the best known and respected vegetarian restaurants in the country. Chef Annie Somerville creates her award-winning menus based on local, organic and sustainable ingredients. Greens (R) Restaurant has been an inspiration to the local community, supporting small growers, producers and wineries.

Thursday, October 30th
Kokua Foundation/Jack & Kim Johnson – Haleiwa, HI
Kokua fosters environmental and garden-based education in Hawaii's schools. Its mission is to make students lifelong stewards of the earth by enabling interactive encounters between those students and the natural world. Headed up by singer Jack Johnson and his wife Kim, Kokua's programs include recycling, environmental field trips and hands-on workshops. Beyond encouraging environmental stewardship, Kokua’s AINA In Schools garden-based education program aims to cultivate healthy eating habits among youth. Each year on or around Earth Day, Kokua brings together environmental organizations, eco-friendly businesses, musicians, artists, teachers and community leaders in its Kokua Festival fundraiser, hosted by Jack Johnson.

Thursday, November 6th
Greenmarket /Michael Hurwitz.– New York, NY
Greenmarket's mission is for all New Yorkers to have access to local agriculture via their 46 farmers' markets throughout New York City's five boroughs. They currently accept food stamps in 14 of the 46 markets. As Greenmarket’s Director, Michael Hurwitz's goal is to preserve farmland and ensure that all communities have access to local produce in an effort to preserve rural communities and promote healthy eating. A longtime advocate of sustainable agriculture and food security, Hurwitz co-founded the innovative urban farming organization Added Value, which has nurtured a new generation of leaders and farmers among the youth of Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Thursday, November 13th
Algalita Foundation/Dr. Marcus Eriksen - Long Beach, CA
The Algalita Marine Research Foundation (AMRF) is dedicated to the protection of the marine environment and its watersheds through research, education and restoration. A major focus of Algalita Education is to let the world know about the buildup of plastics in the ocean and other marine ecosystems so that people can start making changes to improve and sustain those environments. Dr. Marcus Eriksen is Algalita's Director of Research and Education. In a recent field assignment, he led the "JUNK" voyage, sailing from Southern California to Hawaii on a vessel of 15,000 plastic bottles to raise awareness of plastic marine debris and report on its ecological impact.

Thursday, November 20th
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities/Steven Peck - Toronto, Canada
City dwellers often hunger for an experience with nature feeling disconnected from natural cycles. While public parks and gardens help, Canadian Steven Peck felt there had to be other opportunities for nature to have a bigger presence in the urban environment. After years of research and working in public policy, Peck started Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a member-based industry association dedicated to increasing the awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roofs and walls. Now the organization has spread throughout North America, focusing on individual community efforts to invest in green roof technology - providing information and professional training courses, and advising community leaders on how to establish programs and policies to bring more green spaces into the lives of their citizens.

Thursday, November 27th
Community Harvest/Louella Hill – Providence, RI
Community Harvest began at Brown University in an effort to support food producers in the Rhode Island region. Louella Hill, a student at the time, found that she and her friends lacked access to healthier, more natural food choices. Community Harvest works to incorporate locally grown produce into the school's eating plans. In post-college life, Hill's efforts to improve the diet of her community have continued through Farm Fresh, an organization that links local farmers and buyers, and Naragansett Creamery, the only producer of cheeses in Rhode Island. Hill aims to expose people to a more direct connection to the natural world in this increasingly high-tech age while improving their health and eating habits.

ABOUT SUNDANCE CHANNEL
Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all unedited and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel's website address is www.sundancechannel.com.

RAINBOW MEDIA HOLDINGS LLC

Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York's Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media's NYC studios and post-production facilities..

About Kashi Company

Founded in 1984, Kashi is a company on a mission to redefine how people eat to achieve their best lives. As a pioneering health food brand, Kashi is dedicated to providing great tasting, healthy and innovative foods that enable people to achieve optimal health and wellness. Its products are natural, minimally processed, and free of highly refined sugars, artificial additives and preservatives. Kashi(R) brands include: Kashi(R) GOLEAN(R) cereals, bars, shakes and waffles; Kashi(R) Heart to Heart(R) cereal, instant oatmeal and waffles; Kashi(R) 7 Whole Grain Puffs, Honey Puffs, Nuggets, Flakes and Granola cereals; Kashi(R) Organic Promise(R) cereals; Kashi(R) Honey Sunshine cereal; Kashi U(TM) cereal; Kashi(R) Vive(R) Digestive Wellness cereal; Kashi(R) Good Friends(R) and Kashi(R) Good Friends(R) Cinna-Raisin Crunch(R) cereals; Kashi Mighty Bites(TM) cereal; Kashi(TM) TLC(TM) Crackers, Crunchy and Chewy Granola Bars, Cereal Bars and Kashi(TM) TLC(TM) Cookies; Kashi(TM) All Natural Frozen Entrées; Kashi(TM) All Natural Frozen Pizzas; Kashi(TM) All Natural Frozen Pocket Bread sandwiches; Kashi(TM)7 Whole Grain Pilaf and Kashi Seven Whole Grain Pilaf Sides.

For more information visit www.kashi.com.