SWY Safeway Inc.

PLEASANTON, Calif., Nov. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) and its exclusive Lucerne^® brand are accepting entries for the Eighth Annual Lucerne^® The Art of Dairy^™ Art Contest to give creative art students the opportunity to showcase their design skills for a chance to win a grand prize of $30,000, part of a combined $46,000 prize pool.

Since the inception of The Art of Dairy^™ contest in 2005, Lucerne has contributed over $376,000 to schools, teachers, and students. Last year's response was unprecedented with over 9,200 students entering their work and the nine finalists garnering over 600,000 votes when America decided the contest winner. In addition, The Art of Dairy^™ has developed a large fan base with over 1 million web hits. The Call for Entries will run through December 7, 2012.

Dairy products play an important role in shaping our world of nutrition, and Lucerne^® has been feeding students' love of those products for over a century with a wide variety of wholesome items. Delicious nourishment before, during, and after school not only feeds the body, but also helps fuel creative minds. The Lucerne brand is proud to be committed to promoting the creative growth of young artists, supporting their talents along with underfunded school art programs.

About the Contest
Building on last year's new and exciting components, this year's The Art of Dairy^™ contest raises the bar for contestants, teachers and schools. Leveraging a brand new theme – "ImaginDairy Places" – students will create imaginary landscapes inspired by their love of dairy while incorporating Lucerne dairy products on a cow-shaped template. A special panel of judges will review the thousands of entries received, and in late January, will select nine finalists who will paint their selected entry designs onto life-sized fiberglass cow sculptures. Each school will receive a $275 stipend to purchase art supplies that its student finalist uses to decorate the cow sculpture.

Once the finalists have completed their works, America will decide the winner via online and mobile voting from April 17 thru May 17, 2013. Winners will be announced in early June.

The contest winners will share approximately $46,000 in prizes with their art teachers and their schools' art programs. The Grand Prize winner will receive $20,000 for his or her school's art department, plus $5,000 each for the winner and their art teacher. The First Prize winner will receive $5,000 for his or her school's art department, plus $2,500 each for the student and teacher. In addition, one Honorable Achievement winner and his or her teacher will receive $1,000 each. The remaining six finalists will receive $500 gift cards. Additionally, the school with the most entries per capita will win $1,000 for its art department through a special Teacher Incentive program.

This program is a fun and unique way to promote creative growth while encouraging students to artistically express themselves; the contest not only gives students a national platform to unveil their talents, but also helps illustrate the importance of art education in schools.

For past contest winners, entry forms, healthy recipes, and Official Rules, visit www.ArtofDairy.com.

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 1,644 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $43.6 billion in 2011. The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SWY."

SOURCE Safeway Inc.