Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) announced that Assistant Vice President of Legal, Valerie D. Lewis, was named to the prestigious Top Women in Retail and Finance list by Women of Color magazine.

Ms. Lewis is one of a handful of women professionals chosen by the magazine, a business and technology publication geared for women of diverse ethnic backgrounds, to honor and highlight in its upcoming Spring issue. In a press release announcing the list, Women of Color said the Top Women in Retail & Finance honorees were chosen "based on a range of qualitative and quantitative information, strong commitment to their communities, leadership as role models for young and upcoming leaders, and senior status within their organizations."

Ms. Lewis has been a key member of Safeway's legal team for a number of years. She is considered a resource within the supermarket industry on a range of legal, health and food safety issues. Ms. Lewis has corporate legal responsibility for food, health, safety, consumer protection and labeling issues, environmental and other regulatory compliance and litigation, as well as Proposition 65 (California), commercial, product liability and general litigation. She is also integrally involved in the development of policy and training, and she is responsible for implementation of and compliance with consumer, corporate and intellectual technology privacy issues.

In 2010, Ms. Lewis was named to Savoy Magazine's prestigious list of the "Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America." She was also named to the "Most Influential Women in the Bay Area" list by the San Francisco Business Times.

She is a founding member of the Safeway African American Leadership Network and currently serves as the network's Chairperson. She is also a Trustee of the Alameda County Medical Center, one of the largest public health care systems in the country. Ms. Lewis is Secretary of Board of Directors of The Executive Leadership Council and sits on the Boards of Directors of the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD), the Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce and the Youth Law Center.

"We congratulate Valerie on receiving this honor. This recognition for being one of the most talented achievers in retail and finance is well deserved," said Robert Gordon, Safeway's Senior Vice President and General Counsel.

ABOUT SAFEWAY www.safeway.com

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 1,694 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $41.1 billion in 2010. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

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