Jewel-Osco kicks off "A Taste of Black History" program

Courtesy Michael Pirages, Pirages Communications

JEWEL! -OSCO will launch its month-long "A Taste of Black History" program with a VIP Shopping Event on Thursday, Jan. 24th at the JEWEL-OSCO store located at 1655 E. 95th Street in Chicago. Open to the public, the free event will feature:

Celebrity Chef Josh Marks, runner-up in FOX-TV's "MasterChef" reality cooking show will prepare dishes for customer sampling, and be available for autograph signing and pictures.

Food sampling from more than 30 of JEWEL-OSCO's vendor partners, including Chicago-based companies such as Real Men Cook, Flo's Wines and Angelica's Bakery.

Live music by local band Zzaje

JEWEL-OSCO will award a total of $10,000 in donations to St. Felicitas Church Food Pantry, Grant A Wish Food Pantry and one other charity serving the local African-American community

Enter sweepstakes for a chance to win up to $1,000 in JEWEL-OSCO gift cards, and enjoy Special Savings opportunities.

This kickoff event will be followed by 12 food tasting events to be held at select Chicago area JEWEL-OSCO stores during February. This includes a tasting event on Saturday, Feb. 23 from noon to 5:00 pm at the JEWEL-OSCO at 7525 West Lake St. in River Forest, Ill.

" 'A Taste of Black History' gives us an opportunity to thank our African-American vendors for everything they do for our company and our customers," said JEWEL-OSCO President Brian Huff. "This outstanding group of business men and women plays an important role in our success, and we hope consumers realize that when they purchase African-American vendor products they are supporting these wonderful entrepreneurs."

See the full list of JEWEL-OSCO's tasting events at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130122! 006465/en/JEWEL-OSCO-Offers-Taste-Black-History-Partnership-African-American