Jewel-Osco(R) Awards Over $2 Million for Hunger Relief Efforts

ITASCA, Ill., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- JEWEL-OSCO, a leading Midwest food and drug retailer, will present over $2 million in cash and food donations to benefit five major food banks and scores of food pantries in Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

Under the JEWEL-OSCO Hunger Relief Grant Program, coordinated in partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Northern Illinois Food Bank and the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, a total of $300,000 in grants will be handed out to 175 food pantries. The funding will be used by the pantries to acquire refrigeration units, stoves, shelving units, food credits and other resources designed to improve their operational efficiency.

The Hunger Relief Grant Program is now in its second year of operation. Qualified food pantries can apply for grants of up to $2,500 to improve their operational efficiency, including food bank credits of up to $750, which are administered directly through the food banks.

In addition to this program, JEWEL-OSCO will present another separate donation of more than $1.9 million to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Northern Illinois Food Bank, the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, the Midwest Food Bank and the River Bend Foodbank. This contribution reflects the cash and food donations made by the public, vendors, and JEWEL-OSCO during the company's "Hunger Action Month" food drive campaign in September.

"Hunger relief is a key focus area for JEWEL-OSCO," said JEWEL-OSCO President Keith Nielsen. "These difficult economic times have impacted many families. Our company and associates will continue to support the important work being carried out by the food banks - and their network of local food pantries - participating in our Hunger Relief Grant Program and Hunger Action Month activities."

About JEWEL-OSCO
JEWEL-OSCO, a SUPERVALU company, operates 182 stores in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana. With a market-leading position in Chicago, JEWEL-OSCO stores offer consumers the convenience of combined grocery and pharmacy retail, in addition to services such as fuel centers at select locations. Originally established in 1899, the company and its associates remain committed to the communities they serve. For more information about JEWEL-OSCO, please visit www.jewelosco.com or www.oscopharmacy.com.

About SUPERVALU Inc.
SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest companies in the U.S. grocery channel with estimated annual sales of $41 billion. SUPERVALU serves customers across the United States through a network of approximately 4,300 stores composed of approximately 1,200 traditional and premium stores, including 850 in-store pharmacies; 1,180 hard discount Save-A-Lot stores, of which 860 are operated by licensee owners; and 1,920 independent stores serviced primarily by the company's traditional food distribution business. SUPERVALU has approximately 170,000 employees. For more information about SUPERVALU visit www.supervalu.com.

About the Greater Chicago Food Depository
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's food bank, is a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 600 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 500,000 adults and children in Cook County every year. Last year, the Food Depository distributed 58 million pounds of nonperishable food and fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of 119,000 meals every day. The Food Depository's programs and services for children, older adults and the unemployed and underemployed address the root causes of hunger. For more information, log onto www.chicagosfoodbank.org or call 773-247-FOOD.

About Northern Illinois Food Bank
Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) is a non-profit organization that provides food to all those in need through its 520 partner agencies in the following 13 counties - Boone, DuPage, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago. NIFB acquires, gathers, handles, and distributes donated, government, and purchased food to more than 50,000 different people each week through local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth activity centers and other food assistance sites. In Fiscal Year 2009 NIFB distributed over 27 million pounds of food. The Food Bank has recently launched a Capital Campaign to build a new Food Distribution and Community Nutrition Center to enable them to handle more food more efficiently to meet the increasing demand.

About the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is a hunger relief organization that acquires, sorts and distributes food and grocery products to local charities such as food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and after school feeding programs. In addition, the Food Bank provides direct emergency food relief services to underserved individuals such as children and seniors through our BackPack, Kids Cafe, Community Cupboard and Mobile Pantry programs. The Food Bank distributes more than 2.8 million pounds of food annually and serves more than 200,000 households in Northwest Indiana.