WASHINGTON — Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y., has been awarded the 2009 Corporate Stewardship Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce here.

The Chamber recognized the retailer for providing community support to charities, employee scholarships, and the United Way. It noted that Wegmans supplied 16 million pounds of food for hunger relief in 2008 and raised $2 million in customer point-of-sale cash donations for food banks through its Check Out Hunger campaign. It was also lauded for having provided more than $67 million in scholarships to 2,500 students in pursuit of a higher education since 1984.

Danny Wegman, chief executive officer of Wegmans, was on hand at a ceremony Tuesday to accept the award. “Leading with your heart can make a successful business,” he said. “That’s how free enterprise works.”

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