Celebrate National Hot Dog Day with Maple Leaf Foods and Dempster's® and Win!

TSX: MFI
www.mapleleaffoods.com

TORONTO, July 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Maple Leaf Foods and Dempster's® are teaming up to give Canadians the ultimate National Hot Dog Day experience on July 23, 2013, with consumer promotions, online contests, and activities that support local charities to reduce hunger in Canada.

"We can't think of a better summer tradition than celebrating National Hot Dog Day with Canadians from coast-to-coast," said Andrew Pollock, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods. "Maple Leaf and Dempster's have some great events lined up to recognize and thank our fans, including giving away more than $25,000 worth of prizes, while working together to support food-based not-for-profit agencies across Canada."

Maple Leaf and Dempster's are hosting the following events to celebrate National Hot Dog Day with Canadians:

• 120 BBQ Days of Summer: Join Maple Leaf Foods' Facebook Page and Dempster's Facebook Page for a chance to win $25,000 worth of prizes, including Weber® Summit S-620 BBQs, Bose® Sound Dock Portable Digital Music Systems and Maple Leaf and Dempster's coupons and apparel.

• National Hot Dog Day Teaser Twitter Party: On July 22, between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., tweet live with fellow hot dog lovers across Canada and enter to win over $500 in prizes, including Maple Leaf cooler bags, Maple Leaf Top Dog® air mattresses and "Free Hot Dogs for the Summer" coupon prize packs. Watch for the hashtag #HotDogDay and follow @MapleLeafFoods and @Dempster's to learn more and join the fun.

• Online Buy One, Get One Free Offer: Throughout the month of July, Maple Leaf is distributing thousands of Buy One, Get One Free coupons to help Canadians save in store in celebration of National Hot Dog Day. For more information, visit Maple Leaf Foods and Dempster's® Facebook pages on July 23.

• Donation to local charities: Maple Leaf and Dempster's® will donate a portion of the proceeds from every purchase of Maple Leaf hot dogs and Dempster's® hot dog buns on National Hot Dog Day to food banks across Canada.

Pollock adds that, "Maple Leaf Natural Selections® Chicken Wieners have been extremely popular this summer. They have 20 percent less fat than traditional pork wieners and they're delicious!"

Other Maple Leaf Foods brands participating in National Hot Dog Day include:

• Ben's Bakery
• Bon Matin
• POM

Did You Know?…

• Hot dogs trace their origin as far back as the 15^th century to various parts of Germany and Austria.
• Established by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council in the United States, National Hot Dog Day is now celebrated around the world, including Canada.
• The average hot dog is consumed in 6.1 bites.
• Mustard is the most popular hot dog topping - 88 per cent of hot dog eaters use mustard.
• Mickey Mouse's first on screen words were "Hot Dog!" marking his transition from the silent screen.
• The name "hot dog" is often attributed to a cartoonist who observed the carts selling "red hot dachshund dogs" on the New York Polo grounds and was unable to spell dachshund, so he printed "hot dogs" instead.
• Sausages were previously consumed while wearing gloves. As the legend goes, a sausage seller at an exposition during the turn of the 20^th century ran out of gloves and had to improvise by serving the sausages on rolls.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is a leading food company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company employs approximately 19,500 people at its operations across Canada and in the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. The Company had sales of $4.9 billion in 2012.

Image with caption: "Maple Leaf Fiesta Dog (CNW Group/Maple Leaf Foods Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130718_C8382_PHOTO_EN_29118.jpg

Image with caption: "Maple Leaf Rocket Dog (CNW Group/Maple Leaf Foods Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130718_C8382_PHOTO_EN_29119.jpg

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2013/07/18/20130718_C8382_DOC_EN_29122.pdf

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2013/07/18/20130718_C8382_DOC_EN_29123.pdf

PDF available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/media/2013/07/18/20130718_C8382_DOC_EN_29124.pdf

SOURCE: Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Media Contact: David Bauer, Corporate Communications, 905-285-1510