"We are grateful to our customers who, in a challenging economic climate, continue to demonstrate extraordinary generosity," said Larree Renda, Safeway Executive Vice President and Chair of The Safeway Foundation. "The funds raised by our employees will continue to be directed to leading edge research that hold the greatest promise for a cure."

Since 2001, Safeway and the Safeway Foundation have devoted the month of October to raising money for breast cancer research and treatment, an effort that has resulted in more than $78 million donated to the cause, the Company noted in a release. The funds are dedicated to a broad range of research initiatives.

For example, the Safeway Foundation is helping fund the I-SPY TRIAL in which women with locally advanced breast cancer will receive promising drugs in development that are individually targeted to the biology of each woman's tumor. Researchers will use data from one set of patients' treatment to treat other patients, and thus more quickly eliminate ineffective treatments and drugs and bring effective drugs to patients more quickly. In addition, the I-SPY trial will test the concept of personalized medicine by leveraging the molecular tools that have been developed over the last decade with the potential to identify and test new biomarkers as well. I-SPY is managed by a consortium comprised of researchers from the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and a number of partners from pharmaceutical companies, academic medical centers, non-profit and patient advocacy groups.

Safeway Inc. is a food and drug retailer that operates 1,730 stores in the United States and western Canada.

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Safeway Safeway Inc., one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, is a leader in the health care reform debate, calling for information transparency that supports market efficiency and delivery system re-engineering. A longtime member of the Pacific Business Group on Health, the company was recognized for its numerous quality measurement and transparency initiatives that include performance reporting at the health plan, medical group, hospital- and physician-level.

Safeway has aligned its corporate communications and brand strategy to support healthy eating and active lifestyles. Recognizing obesity as a key cost driver, Safeway recently collaborated with over 40 major food and beverage manufacturers and food retailers to advance programs for a Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation (burn 1,750 additional calories and consume 1,750 calories less per week). Additionally, its contributions to community health include cancer prevention and early diagnosis, with fundraising efforts having netted more than $100 million to date.

"We appreciate the recognition from NBCH, and commend their work on behalf of employers to improve the efficiency of our nation's health care system," said Ken Shachmut, executive vice president, Safeway Health.

Health Action Council Ohio NBCH presented Health Action Council Ohio (HAC) with its 2009 Value-Based Purchasing Membership Award. HAC is an Ohio-based non-profit coalition of purchasers dedicated to affordable, high-quality medical care. HAC members include more than 200 employers such as American Electric Power, Nationwide Insurance, Jo-Ann Stores, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Progressive Corporation, the Sherwin-Williams Company, and the State of Ohio.

HAC was recognized for its support of payment reform and value-based purchasing through its growing group purchasing programs (endorsed by the Ohio Business Roundtable), best practice sharing and eValue8(TM). HAC is also a founding partner in Better Health Greater Cleveland, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Aligning Forces for Quality project that measures improvements in the care and outcomes of persons with chronic medical conditions.

The Employer Excellence in Value-Based Purchasing Award is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems. The 2009 Value-Based Purchasing Membership Award is sponsored by AstraZeneca.

About the National Business Coalition on Health NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of nearly 60 employer-based health care coalitions, representing over 7,000 employers and approximately 25 million employees and their dependents across the United States. NBCH and its members are dedicated to value based purchasing of health care services through the collective action of public and private purchasers. For additional information visit: www.nbch.org.

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Since 2001, Safeway and the Safeway Foundation have devoted the month of October to raising money for breast cancer research and treatment, an effort that has resulted in more than $78 million donated to the cause. The funds are dedicated to a broad range of research initiatives.

For example, the Safeway Foundation is helping fund the I-SPY TRIAL* in which women with locally advanced breast cancer will receive promising drugs in development that are individually targeted to the biology of each woman's tumor. Researchers will use data from one set of patients' treatment to treat other patients, and thus more quickly eliminate ineffective treatments and drugs and bring effective drugs to patients more quickly. In addition, the I-SPY trial will test the concept of personalized medicine by leveraging the molecular tools that have been developed over the last decade with the potential to identify and test new biomarkers as well. I-SPY is managed by a consortium comprised of researchers from the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and a large number of partners from major pharmaceutical companies, leading academic medical centers, non-profit and patient advocacy groups.

Another Safeway Foundation-funded research initiative joins researchers from the University of California's celebrated medical centers -- UC San Francisco, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine. Also participating in the collaboration are the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, the Northern California Cancer Center, Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative, the National Cancer Institute's BIG Health Consortium, and the Center for Medical Technology Policy. The project, the ATHENA Breast Health Network, looks to improve the course of care for the 150,000 initial participants by designing and testing new approaches to research, technology and health care delivery. The participants will be screened for breast cancer and followed for years to come through the five UC medical centers. Grants from The Safeway Foundation and the University of California funded this ambitious project.

*Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging And moLecular Analysis

Safeway is a corporate leader in supporting cancer causes. To date, the company has raised nearly $133 million for breast cancer and prostate cancer research and treatment. The services and outreach made possible by these funds include mobile mammography units that give access to early detection for low-income women and those in remote areas, low-cost prostate cancer screening tests, education and prevention information in various languages, and a web site -- www.BreastCancerTrials.org -- that helps breast cancer patients find clinical trials for new experimental treatments.

Cancer research is one of many important causes supported by Safeway and The Safeway Foundation. In total, Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and in 2008 donated more than $248 million to causes such as education, hunger relief and programs focused on assisting people with disabilities.

ABOUT SAFEWAY www.Safeway.com

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,730 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $44.1 billion in 2008. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

SOURCE: Safeway Inc.

Safeway Inc. 
Teena Massingill, 925-467-3810 
Teena.Massingill@Safeway.com