American National CattleWomen Receive Grant from Altria

San Antonio (Feb 4, 2005) — American National CattleWomen Foundation, Inc. has received a grant of $25,000 for training selected National Beef Ambassador Program youth in leadership, speaking and presentation skills. These skills will be used to champion good nutrition and beef’s role in a healthy diet to peer and consumer audiences .

T he National Beef Ambassador Program is funded in part by the national beef checkoff, which is administered by the Cattlemen's Beef Board. The American National CattleWomen, Inc. (ANCW) coordinates the National Beef Ambassador Program with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Both ANCW and NCBA serve as contractors for the Beef Board for checkoff-funded programs.

The grant received by ANCW Foundation, Inc. is one of 17 individual grants ranging from $7,500 to $25,000 from the Shared Solutions SM Agricultural Contributions program. The grant program, an initiative of the Altria Group, Inc., awarded a total of $350,000 to not-for-profit organizations.The grants will help support innovative projects benefiting the farm-to-consumer supply community.

“The ANCW Foundation is extremely excited and honored to receive this grant,” said Susie Magnuson, ANCW president. “ Shared Solutions recognizes the importance of training young people to connect with consumers and with key audiences. The skills acquired as a result of this program will benefit the Beef Ambassadors for a lifetime, and the beef industry as well.”

Now entering its sixth year, Shared Solutions addresses issues common to the agricultural supply chain from producers to ag-based consumer products companies.Altria Group, Inc., the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA, has awarded about $1.6 million to non-profit organizations throughout the agricultural chain through its Shared Solutions program

“Our initiative is about partnering with agriculture to find creative means to address complex issues,” says Katherine Trent, director of agricultural relations, Altria Corporate Services, Inc.“ANCW Foundation is a terrific partner in every respect, and a worthy grant recipient.”

The grant was awarded in the Leadership Sustainability category. Proposals were also received and evaluated in three additional categories: Environmental Sustainability, Economic Sustainability, and Product Sustainability and Security.

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The American National CattleWomen Foundation, Inc., is administered by American National CattleWomen, Inc., a trade association of America 's affiliated CattleWomen, with the primary focus of promotion and consumer education regarding beef as a safe and nutritious food, and the production of beef cattle as an industry.

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO) is the parent company of Kraft Foods, Philip Morris International and Philip Morris USA.For nearly 50 years, Altria Group has provided sustained and wide-ranging support for organizations that feed the hungry, provide services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, promote the arts, and assist communities affected by natural disasters, as well as numerous programs that address important community needs. As part of this commitment to responsibility, Altria Group has awarded over $1 billion in the last decade alone.Additional information about giving and community-focused initiatives of Altria Group is available at www.altria.com/media_programs .