<p><strong>PLEASINGTON, CA</strong> - Safeway is taking a moment this holiday season to reflect on and thank its customers and employees for their generosity for donating food and toys to assist those in need. As 2011 winds down, Safeway is holding a series of national and regional food drives, toy drives and volunteer activities to top off a year of successful outreach, support and giving. One of Safeway’s many initiatives comes in the form of a partnership with Kraft Foods to promote the nationwide Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive. Through the partnership, products are pre-selected and placed in bags allowing customers to purchase the bagged food at a discounted price and place it in a donation barrel. The donations are then directed to a local food bank. Kraft Foods is also providing the gift of grants to food banks in each of Safeway's U.S. operating divisions. The total aid amounts to $400,000 and will help the food banks provide approximately 2 million meals. This is only one form of giving in which Safeway participates. On different local fronts, Safeway also provides for the needy in the community from a sit-down dinner for 5,000 people in Washington, D.C., to one of the nation's largest toy drives in Texas.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Reflecting back on the year, Safeway raised $46.4 million for a multitude of causes during 2011. Stores raised and donated $24.4 million for breast cancer and prostate cancer research. Through campaigns to assist people with disabilities, the company raised nearly $21 million. The donations went to Easter Seals, Special Olympics, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, to name a few. Safeway also raised $1 million for the Wounded Warrior Project for those service men and women who were injured on or after September 11, 2001.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Safeway’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. The company received the Association of Fundraising Professionals' 2011 Freeman Philanthropic Services Award for Outstanding Corporation, an honor that acknowledged its outstanding commitment to important causes through financial support and caring and commitment while also motivating others to do the same. "We deeply appreciate the generosity of our customers and employees, especially at this time when the need is at its greatest," said Larree Renda, Executive Vice President and Chair of The Safeway Foundation. "Through the holiday season we hope to lighten the load for those in our communities who are struggling to make ends meet and strengthen the charities that are receiving a record number of requests for assistance."</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>www.safeway.com</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
