ADDING MULTIMEDIA Safeway & Vons/Pavilions Team up with State of California and the American Red Cross to Help Shoppers ''Be Disaster Prepared''


A smart purchase. California First Lady Maria Shriver helps a mother and son pick out an American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Starter Kit at Monday's kick-off of the state's "Be Smart, Be Responsible, Be Prepared, Be Ready!" public service campaign. Shriver, actress Jamie Lee Curtis (right) and executives from Safeway Inc., Vons and the American Red Cross launched the campaign from a Vons store near Northridge, where a 1994 earthquake caused severe damage in the Los Angeles community. (Photo: Business Wire)




Safety on aisle 5. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, California First Lady Maria Shriver (left), and American Red Cross President Marty Evans (far right) check out some of the suggested supplies at the launch of the state's "Be Smart, Be Responsible, Be Prepared, Be Ready!" emergency preparedness campaign. The women were joined on Monday by representatives from Safeway Inc. at a Vons store that will carry special American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Starter kits. The yearlong safety campaign will be spearheaded by the California Office of Emergency Services. (Photo: Business Wire)





LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 25, 2005--Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) today announced its participation in a partnership with the State of California and the American Red Cross to help California families plan and prepare in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. Safeway and Vons executives joined California's First Lady Maria Shriver, actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Raven Symone, American Red Cross President Marty Evans, and other dignitaries in kicking off the state's "Be Smart, Be Responsible, Be Prepared, Be Ready!" public service campaign aimed at encouraging better emergency planning and preparedness.


"Safeway is honored to join the First Lady and take a leadership role in this important partnership to help educate millions of Californians about the need to be disaster prepared," said Safeway Executive Vice President, Larree Renda. "Our stores and employees take pride in helping make a difference in our communities by offering emergency preparedness kits, providing free educational materials, and airing public service announcements about the importance of disaster preparedness."

Safeway's commitment to this important public service campaign is valued at $2.5 million in product and in-kind contributions and will continue throughout the year to ensure maximum outreach to families and communities. The following are highlights of Safeway's partnership:

-- Beginning April 25th all California Safeway, Vons, Pavilions and Pak'n Save stores will sell American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Starter Kits specially created for the "Be Smart, Be Responsible, Be Prepared, Be Ready!" campaign. Available in one-person and four-person family kits, Safeway will sell them at cost to customers for $29.99 and $49.99. Each backpack kit contains essential items such as emergency blankets, rain ponchos, light sticks, a flashlight and batteries, water containers, a personal first aid kit, and other important items recommended by the Red Cross and the State of California. Each kit will also include an educational message from Maria Shriver with California's "10 Ways to Be Disaster Prepared" brochures to help families develop a plan for preparedness.

-- For each kit purchased, the Safeway and Vons Foundations will make a $1.00 contribution to support the American Red Cross and the California State Alliance to strengthen disaster preparedness programs.

-- Safeway and Vons/Pavilions will produce public service announcements and messages to be included in weekly print and radio advertising to help communicate the "Be Smart, Be Responsible, Be Prepared, Be Ready!" program to millions of California consumers. Safeway will also include these public service messages as part of its in-store radio broadcast network. Educational materials will also be sent to schools participating in Safeway's eScrip program.

-- As part of the program launch, Safeway will provide customers with information about Maria Shriver's "10 Ways to Be Disaster Prepared" and an "essential items" shopping list to help plan and purchase critical items needed in the event of an emergency. Each aisle in the store will place specially designed "shelf talkers" next to "essential items" to help customers identify emergency supplies needed to supplement their emergency kits.

"Our stores and employees have a strong tradition of helping communities in time of need, and we're excited about helping educate our customers about disaster preparedness," said Tom Keller, President of Vons/Pavilions. "This partnership provides critical information about the need to plan and be ready so their families are protected in the event of a disaster."

The yearlong statewide campaign, spearheaded by the California Office of Emergency Services, was announced at a local Vons store near Northridge, where a 1994 earthquake caused severe damage in the Los Angeles community. A Northern California kick-off event will take place on April 28th at the San Francisco Marina District Safeway store.

Safeway and Vons/Pavilions have a long history of supporting charitable organizations and communities. When California has experienced disasters, whether fires, earthquakes or floods local Safeway and Vons/Pavilions stores and their employees have always been there to lend a helping hand. This includes everything from providing parking facilities as disaster coordination centers, supplying food, water and supplies to victims and emergency crews, and raising funds for relief efforts. Earlier this year, Safeway and its customers raised nearly $4 million during the month of January to aid victims of the devastating tsunamis in Asia.

"This partnership will provide important resources for Californians to help them be disaster prepared," said Karl Schroeder, president of Safeway's Northern California Division. "We are proud to be a resource for our customers and the community in such an important effort and applaud the State of California for launching this important program."

Each year Safeway makes cash contributions and in-kind donations to non-profit organizations throughout the communities it serves. During 2004, the company donated more than $100 million worth of merchandise to Second Harvest food banks and other hunger relief organizations. Safeway also contributed more than $20 million to local schools through eScrip and other educational programs. In addition, Safeway and its employees conducted major fundraising campaigns to support awareness, research and treatment programs for breast and prostate cancer as well as muscular dystrophy.

About Safeway

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. Headquartered in California, Safeway is one of the state's largest private employers, operating more than 550 stores under the Safeway, Vons, Pavilions and Pak'n Save banners. The company operates more than 1,800 stores in the United States and Canada and had annual sales of $35.8 billion in 2004. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.