SAN FERNANDO : Charities to Split $150,000 Donated by Citrus Group

Sunkist Growers Inc., which is facing a lawsuit by the Justice Department for allegedly violating federal marketing quotas, has joined forces with its German marketing partner to donate more than $150,000 to two dozen charities as part of its celebration of 100 years in business.

Representatives of groups ranging from San Fernando Valley Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to AIDS Project L.A. and the Leukemia Society of America received checks averaging $8,000 at a ceremony at the citrus cooperative’s headquarters in Sherman Oaks.

Sunkist’s image in its centennial year has been marred by Justice Department allegations that it violated sales quotas for lemons set by the federal government, which restricts the amount of citrus fruit in order to maintain stable prices. The lawsuit, filed in August, is pending.

The Rickertsen Foundation, set up by Sunkist’s licensee in Hamburg, Germany, supplied $100,000 of the charitable fund money as a gift.