Kraft Pizza Co. officially opened the doors to its newly expanded Little Chute, Wis., pizza plant recently.

Attended by Kraft Foods employees and members of state and local government, the ribbon cutting ceremony celebrated the 108,000-sq.-ft. addition to the plant. The expansion will bring about 300 new jobs to the community. To date, about 200 of those jobs have been filled.

The expanded plant now houses a new pizza crust bakery line and an assembly line to meet demand for the company's products now and in the future, according to the company.

"This major expansion in Little Chute shows our commitment to Wisconsin and gives us the capacity we need to maintain our strong momentum," says Tim Cofer, president, Kraft Pizza Co. "We're extending our industry leadership by making more of the highest-quality pizzas and frozen meals. We're delighting our consumers with innovative new products and consistent value compared to carry-out and delivery."

To celebrate the expansion, the plant donated the first "official" 10,000 pizzas to America's Second Harvest of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wis., and Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. The donation helped to provide about 30,000 meals to those in need.

Almost all of the company's pizza is produced at its plants in Little Chute and Medford, Wis., and more than 75% of the cheese used on the pizza is from Wisconsin.

Little Chute producesDiGiorno,California Pizza Kitchen,TombstoneandJack's pizzas at the plant.

The Village of Little Chute's fame as the home of popular frozen pizza goes back to 1960, to privately heldJack's Frozen Pizza, Inc. In 1992, Kraft Foods, which had earlier purchasedTombstone Pizza, acquiredJack's. Within two years, the Little Chute facility doubled capacity and grew as Wisconsin-madeJack'sandTombstonebrands expanded distribution nationwide. In 1995,DiGiorno Rising CrustPizza made its debut.