5.05.2004 ET

(CSRwire) LANHAM, MD--Proving that nickels, pennies and dimes do add up, Safeway Food and Drug stores in the Washington/Baltimore region collected donations of more than $161,000 recently with its Round Up Hunger campaign to benefit area food banks.

Safeway offered customers an opportunity to round up their grocery order to the nearest dollar with the change automatically donated to the Maryland Food Bank in the Baltimore area, the Capital Area Food Bank in metropolitan Washington, D.C., and local food banks closer to stores outside those areas.

"Our customers showed how generous and willing they are when it comes to helping our neighbors in need," says Greg TenEyck, director of public affairs for Safeway's Eastern Division and chairman of the Capital Area Food Bank. "Our store employees really got behind the cause and were enthusiastic in their support. We are grateful for such a tremendous effort and such wonderful results."

Safeway operates 143 stores in this area, including 77 in Maryland, 46 in Virginia, 16 in the District of Columbia and four in Delaware.

Food banks supply food to needy people by gathering excess and donated grocery products, and distributing them to charitable food providers.

The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) was founded in 1980 and is the largest public, non-profit food and nutrition education resource in the Washington metropolitan area. Its mission is to feed people who suffer from hunger by acquiring food and distributing it through a local network of more than 750 member feeding programs, and to educate, empower and enlighten the community about the issues of hunger and nutrition. With warehouses in the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia, the CAFB distributes more than 20 million pounds of food, including six million pounds of fresh produce, to an estimated 275,000 people annually.

The Maryland Food Bank (MFB) has facilities in Baltimore and Salisbury comprising nearly 75,000 square feet of warehouse, refrigerator and freezer space. The MFB distributes up to 12 million pounds of food annually through its warehouses and a statewide assistance network of food banks in Allegheny, Washington, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Southern Maryland to more than 900 food providers. Opened in 1979, the MFB recently received the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organization's Award for Standards for Excellence in ethics and accountability in business.

Safeway Inc is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales.

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