We are pleased to announce that as of yesterday afternoon Lakeside has completed the transaction with Seneca Foods for the acquisition of the manufacturing and distribution facility at Poynette, WI.

Poynette was one of four facilities previously owned by Chiquita Processed Foods and acquired by Lakeside as part of a three company deal that also included Seneca Foods. We had previously acquired manufacturing plants at Eden and New Richmond, WI and Owatonna, MN in a transaction completed on June 17, 2003.

As part of the acquisition of Poynette, Lakeside simultaneously sold its share of Wisconsin Sauerkraut Company to Great Lakes Kraut Company of Bear Creek, WI. Del Monte Foods continues as a partner in that joint venture operation, which will continue to produce sauerkraut in Poynette for the foreseeable future.

We are very happy to welcome our new associates from Poynette. We know that this great group of employees has been through a difficult period of uncertainty over the past months as their ownership situation was resolved. We know they are enthusiastic to join the Lakeside team and we are sure they will make an immediate contribution to our collective success as an even stronger company.

We thank the many Lakeside associates who have made major contributions in completing this challenging and complex acquisition, and others who have been helping out at Eden, New Richmond, and Owatonna with training and support. We now ask everyone to again step up in support of our newest team members at Poynette, to give them a warm Lakeside welcome and to help them quickly transition into our Lakeside systems.

We can all be proud to be part of a company that has a 116 year record of success and one that will be a leader in the domestic and international food industry for many years to come.