NEWS ROOM

NASHVILLE EGG & GIBSON FOOD MERGE TO FORM CHOICE FOOD DISTRIBUTORS

Nashville, Tenn. (March 1, 2006) – Nashville Egg, Inc. and Gibson Food Products, Inc., two of Middle Tennessee’s long-standing food distributors, have combined their resources to form Choice Food Distributors, Inc., an independent wholesale food service distributor of broad line products.

Nashville Egg, Inc., a provider of fresh poultry, egg and meat products in Middle Tennessee since the 1940s, and Gibson Food Products, Inc. of Hendersonville, a broad line food distributor since 1985, have merged operations and management teams as Choice Food Distributors. They currently serve over 1,000 restaurants in Middle Tennessee.

Owners Charles “Butch” Gibson of Gibson Food Products and Jim Fesmire of Nashville Egg, Inc. call the merger, “a natural.” They both have known one another for over 20 years as competitors, friends, and business partners in the food service distribution industry. Together, they have over 70 years of combined business experience in the industry.

“We see the merger as a way to provide new opportunities for growth and adding value to our customers,” says Jerry Walker who was named chief executive officer of Choice Food Distributors. “Our customers now have access to any food service product through the broad reaching alliances with which we have established relationships.” He adds that the company plans to expand its existing sales force and management team.

With over 23 years of experience in private industry, Walker, a certified public accountant, most recently served for the past five years as senior vice president of finance and operations for Kroll Background America, Inc., a pre-employment background screening company. Prior to that, he was vice president of Southeast Operations for Philip Metals for 10 years.

The distribution center for Choice Food Distributors is housed in a 30,000-square-foot U.S. Department of Agriculture certified facility, located at 6167 Cockrill Bend Circle in Nashville where Nashville Egg has been operating for the past six years. Gibson Food Product’s distribution center was previously located in Hendersonville.

Choice Food Distributors currently serves 15 counties in Tennessee; Warren County, Kentucky; Atlanta, Georgia; northern Alabama, with plans to service Knoxville beginning next month. Those counties they serve in Middle Tennessee include: Davidson County and the surrounding counties of Bedford, Cheatham, Coffee, Dickson, Hickman, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, and Wilson; and Putnam and Cumberland counties in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland region.

For further information on wholesale food products, call Choice Food Distributors at (615) 350-6070, or visit their website at www.choicefood.com.

Jerry Walker, right, newly named chief executive officer of Choice Food Distributors, stands with owners Charles “Butch” Gibson of Gibson Foods, left, and Jim Fesmire of Nashville Egg, center, who merged their 30+-year-old operations to form Choice Food Distributors.