SHARE OUR STRENGTH’S TASTE OF THE NATION® MAINE 2012

SET FOR JUNE 24 ON GREAT DIAMOND ISLAND

Tickets now on sale for 7th-annual event featuring Maine’s top chefs and restaurants

Who:    Honorary chef chairs, Sam Hayward (Fore Street), Larry Matthews (Back Bay Grill),Lee Skawinski (Cinque Terre, Vignola), Steve Corry (Five-Fifty-Five, Petite Jacqueline) and Jeff Landry (The Farmer’s Table), head a lineup of top-notch chefs and mixologists donating their resources and talents to Share Our Strength Maine.

What:    An unprecedented opportunity to sample the finest foods, spirits and wine from some of Maine’s most noted restaurants.  Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® Maine is the premier culinary benefit that raises critical funds needed to end childhood hunger in Maine.

When:     June 24, 2:30 – 8 p.m.

Where: Diamond’s Edge at Diamond Cove, Great Diamond Island, Portland Harbor, Maine

Details: Tickets for Taste of the Nation® Maine are $125 for General Admission and $200  for VIP, which includes a reception. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-877-26-TASTE or visiting TasteOfTheNation.org. Thanks to the generosity of participating restaurants and our sponsors, one hundred percent of ticket sales support Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger in Maine. Taste of the Nation® Maine is sponsored by Hannaford, PowerPay, Stonewall Kitchen, Maine Magazine and Bill Dodge Auto Group. In 2011, Taste of the Nation® Maine raised more than $103,000 for this important cause.

About Taste of the Nation

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® is the nation’s premier culinary benefit dedicated to making sure no kid grows up hungry. Each spring and summer, the nation's hottest chefs and mixologists donate their time, talent and passion at nearly 40 events across the United States and Canada, with one goal in mind: to raise the critical funds needed to end childhood hunger. Taste of the Nation is nationally sponsored by American Express, Sysco, Food Network, Brown-Forman Corporation, S.Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water and Stella Artois. Since 1988, Taste of the Nation has raised more than $73 million.

About Share Our Strength Maine

Share Our Strength is the leading national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry. In Maine, where 1 in 4 children is unsure about where their next meal is coming from, our dedicated volunteers work with community groups and good local programs to catch these children and ensure they have nutritious food where they live, learn and play. Supported by our generous sponsors – Bill Dodge; Power Pay; Maine Magazine; Stonewall Kitchen; and Hannaford – and by Maine’s outstanding restaurants and chefs, we create engaging, pioneering programs like Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation®, Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale®, Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry: dinners®, Share Our Strength’s Dine Out®: No Kid Hungry, and Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters®. Visit Strength.org/portlandme to learn more.