Ailing Economy Strains Resources of Food Bank for New York City, Peter Buffet Offers Holiday Album for Free Download Providing Meals for New Yorkers in Need

Musician and philanthropist Peter Buffett has teamed up with download portal Amie Street, offering his Christmas album, Star of Wonder, for free download. Amie Street will donate $1 and Robin Hood will donate $2 for each download to the Food Bank for New York City which will provide fifteen free meals for New Yorkers in need.

New York, NY, December 06, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Food Bank For New York City is seeing first hand the effects of the economic downturn – finding funding has become more challenging while the need for emergency food is increasing rapidly.

The Food Bank's Community Kitchen of West Harlem, which served 92,000 meals last year, has seen it's already long lines become even longer. As demand for emergency food increases, supply continues to decrease. More than 1.3 million New York City residents turned to food assistance in 2007 - a 24 percent increase from 2004. Given the downward economic climate, compounded by skyrocketing food prices and escalating unemployment, the demand for food is reaching crisis levels.

Recognizing this time of unprecedented need, Peter Buffett, The Robin Hood Foundation, AmieStreet.com, and the Food Bank For New York City have united to help fund the Food Bank this holiday season.

Starting today, Peter Buffett’s new holiday album, Star of Wonder, is available to download for free at http://amiestreet.com/fhb. For every free download, AmieStreet.com will make a $1 donation, which will be tripled by Robin Hood, allowing the Food Bank to provide 15 meals for New Yorkers in need.

“I have always looked for ways in which the music I make can play a larger role in the lives of others,” said Buffett. “And I can think of no better way to accomplish this than having the direct effect of a download of free holiday music support the Food Bank of New York City. Every day millions of New Yorkers are dependent on the generosity of others - and by simply downloading this holiday album an additional 15 meals will be provided to those in need.”

In his accomplished career, Buffett, an Emmy Award-winning musician, has authored commercials for MTV, CNN and Coca-Cola, scored part of Dances With Wolves, and collaborated with Grammy-winner Akon, which was part of a previous Download To Make A Difference campaign with AmieStreet.com. He recently launched his new ‘Concert and Conversation’ series in the Fall of 2008, which is an entertaining and informative look at Peter’s extensive background in music, punctuated with stories about his philanthropic and life experiences as the son of one of the most noteworthy investors of our time.

Food Bank For New York City

For 25 years the Food Bank For New York City has been the city’s major provider of food to New Yorkers in need. The organization works to end food poverty and increase access to affordable, nutritious food for low-income New Yorkers through a range of programs and services that focus on food sourcing and distribution, education and nutrition, financial empowerment, disaster relief, policy and research. Food Bank For New York City sources and then distributes food to more than 1,000 emergency and community food programs, assisting the approximately 1.3 million New Yorkers who access emergency food. For every dollar donated to the Food Bank, 96 cents goes toward food acquisition, distribution and programs. For additional information, visit www.foodbanknyc.org.

About AmieStreet.com

AmieStreet.com is the first digital music store to leverage community-driven pricing and social discovery tools to make buying music fun, easy and social. Founded in the Spring of 2006, AmieStreet.com is a site where the community determines the price of songs, which start out free and rise in price the more they are purchased. For recommending songs that subsequently rise in price, AmieStreet.com rewards its members with free downloads. The company is located in New York City.

Press Contact:

Zane Groshelle
zane@amiestreet.com
p. (718) 482-8307
f. (718) 383-0946
Vera Sheps
vera@twoshepsthatpass.com
p. (646) 613-1101
f. (425) 790-5717

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