Safeway Announces 30 Finalists in Third Annual Lucerne(R) The Art of Dairy Contest

Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY) announced today the names of 30 students selected as finalists to compete for a $30,000 grand prize in the Lucerne^® The Art of Dairy^{â„¢} "Cows & History Art Contest. The popular contest joins thousands of students and classrooms from across the country in a special educational project to promote artistic creativity, academic excellence and healthy lifestyles.

"Safeway has long been a major supporter of education and student achievement. This program combines the richness of American history with the creativity of visual art, said Safeway Executive Vice President Larree Renda. "We continue to be impressed with the extraordinary talent of these young artists.

Using cows as the focal point to promote dairy products as healthy snack alternatives for kids, Safeway, the maker of Lucerne^® dairy products, asked students ages 12 to 19 to submit designs based on the theme "Cows & History, using an outline of a cow as the canvas. Entries were accepted from mid-October 2007 to December 10, 2007. The contest drew entries from all over the country with nearly 6,000 middle school and high school students from as far away as Maryland and Hawaii submitting entries. A distinguished panel of judges will choose the final winner. Safeway is proud to include renowned graphic artist Michael Schwab, as well as Mary Scott, Chair of the School of Graphic Design at the Academy of Art University, to participate on judging the panel.

The 30 finalists will transfer their designs to life-sized fiberglass cow sculptures in the final phase of the competition. Each school receives a $250 stipend to purchase the art supplies that their student finalist uses to decorate the cow sculpture. The grand prize winner will receive $20,000 for their school's art department, plus $5,000 each for the winner and their art teacher.

The completed decorated cows will be on display at a Safeway or Safeway-owned store near the finalists' schools during the final judging phase. During this time, the panel of distinguished judges will review the entries to pick a winner of the grand prize. The grand prize winner will be announced at the end of April.

A special web site, www.safeway.com/lucerne, has been created to showcase past winners and contest information and share healthy recipes.

Safeway has long recognized the critically important role that education plays in building strong communities and ensuring their future growth. Each year Safeway provides more than $23 million in financial support to schools and education programs through its eScrip program, such as The Art of Dairy other education initiatives. The eScrip program allows shoppers to raise money for schools simply by making purchases. Safeway donates a percentage of each shopping trip directly to their chosen school.

ABOUT SAFEWAY

Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,738 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $40.2 billion in 2006. Safeway supports a broad range of charitable and community programs and last year donated more than $172 million, the equivalent of 20% of its 2006 net income, to important causes, such as cancer research, education, food banks and programs focused on assisting people with disabilities. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

Lucerne^® "The Art of Dairy"^{â„¢} Contest Finalists

State	Student's Name	ÂÂ	School	ÂÂ	School City
AZ	Sylvia Overmyer	ÂÂ	Prescott High School	ÂÂ	Prescott
AZ	Heather Johnson	ÂÂ	Buena High School	ÂÂ	Sierra Vista
CA	Aubrey Williams	ÂÂ	Monte Vista High School	ÂÂ	Danville
CA	Brian Collazo	ÂÂ	Santa Clara High School	ÂÂ	Santa Clara
CA	Diana Nguyen	ÂÂ	Evergreen Valley High School	ÂÂ	San Jose
CA	Cynthia Mora	ÂÂ	Weber Institute	ÂÂ	Stockton
CA	Nicholas Ross	ÂÂ	Mater Dei High School	ÂÂ	Santa Ana
CA	Ivy Hu	ÂÂ	Whitney High School	ÂÂ	Cerritos
CA	John Taing	ÂÂ	John Marshall High School	ÂÂ	Los Angeles
CA	Stacey M. Smith	ÂÂ	Boron Jr./ Sr. High School	ÂÂ	Boron
CA	Brittney Dreher-Metts	ÂÂ	Warren High School	ÂÂ	Downey
CA	Kimberly Tang	ÂÂ	Temple City High School	ÂÂ	Temple City
CO	Sophia Sweeney	ÂÂ	Boulder High School	ÂÂ	Boulder
CO	Carole A. Smith	ÂÂ	Montbello High School	ÂÂ	Denver
CO	Name Withheld	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ	ÂÂ
HI	Nicole Lee	ÂÂ	Moanalua High School	ÂÂ	Honolulu
ID	Morgan Asplund	ÂÂ	Jenifer Junior High School	ÂÂ	Lewiston
IL	Thomas J. Hirsch	ÂÂ	Glenbard South High School	ÂÂ	Glen Ellyn
IL	Mercedes Zapata	ÂÂ	De La Salle Institute	ÂÂ	Chicago
MD	Matt Weichseldorfer	ÂÂ	C. Milton Wright High School	ÂÂ	Bel Air
OR	Kierstin Marie Barlow	ÂÂ	Cascade Christian High School	ÂÂ	Medford
OR	Jessica Wall	ÂÂ	Aloha High School	ÂÂ	Beaverton
PA	Jing Jing Wu	ÂÂ	Northeast High School	ÂÂ	Philadelphia
TX	Thomas Conway	ÂÂ	The Woodlands High School	ÂÂ	The Woodlands
TX	Arturo Lee	ÂÂ	The Woodlands High School	ÂÂ	The Woodlands
TX	Jennifer Cho	ÂÂ	Summit High School	ÂÂ	Arlington
VA	Songserea Wood	ÂÂ	TC Williams High School	ÂÂ	Alexandria
WA	Rathanak Rath	ÂÂ	Evergreen High School	ÂÂ	Seattle
WA	Diana Nguyen	ÂÂ	Evergreen High School	ÂÂ	Seattle
WA	Jeayoung Yoo	ÂÂ	Shadle Park High School	ÂÂ	Spokane