SUPERVALU Emphasizes Importance of Health and Wellness During Heart Health Month

MINNEAPOLIS, (BUSINESS WIRE) -- This February, in honor of Heart Health Month, SUPERVALU INC. and its nationwide family of stores, including Acme, Albertsons, bigg's, Cub Foods, Farm Fresh, Hornbacher's, Jewel-Osco, Lucky, Shaw's/Star Market, Shop 'n Save and Shopper's Food & Pharmacy, are promoting health and wellness by showcasing the many ways the company and its stores can partner with customers to help them make healthier choices for themselves and their families.

"SUPERVALU is committed to promoting health and wellness and to helping our customers lead healthier lifestyles," said Craig Stacey, SUPERVALU's director, health and wellness marketing. "Through a variety of programs, product offerings and expert advice, SUPERVALU and our family of stores and pharmacies strive each day to make it easier and more affordable for our customers to make healthy choices for themselves and their families."

"SUPERVALU pharmacists play a key role in promoting the health and wellness of our customers. Our mission is to make it easier for all of our customers to manage any health conditions they may have or maintain good health," said Chris Dimos, president, SUPERVALU Pharmacies. "We believe that by providing a single destination where customers can find fresh food selections, nutrition and health information and access to our full-service pharmacies, we can help customers achieve their health goals, whatever they may be."

For example, in participating stores and pharmacies this month the company has launched Value Your Heart, which provides customers with practical information on heart health. The program includes an in-store booklet complete with recipes and information for heart-smart meals as well as valuable money-saving coupons. Additionally, a Value Your Heart microsite (www.supervalu.com/heart) will offer customers information online including heart-healthy shopping lists. The program also encourages customers to learn more about their current health status through free blood pressure tests and discounted cholesterol screenings at our in-store pharmacies.

"Our vision is to establish SUPERVALU's retail banners as our shoppers' primary destination for simple and affordable health and wellness solutions," continued Stacey. "Those solutions include offering delicious nutrient-rich food as well as resources for overall health information, details on the nutritional content and benefits of products, tips for eating right or managing a specific health condition and advice from our team of corporate dietitians and pharmacists. We see an opportunity to serve as a partner to our customers, providing them with resources and information to help them take control over their health."

SUPERVALU is also in the second year of a three year commitment as a national supporter of the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement, aimed at educating women about the risk factors for heart disease and urging them to take action to reduce their personal risk.

The company again plans to promote its status as a national supporter of Go Red For Women through a variety of methods, including in-store promotions, advertising, and events. In addition to participating in National Wear Red Day last week, SUPERVALU offices and retail banners are undertaking a variety of activities throughout February to mark American Heart Month. For more information about events in their area, customers should contact their local stores. Contact information can be found at www.supervalu.com by clicking on each retail banner logo.

"As one of the country's largest grocery retailers, SUPERVALU is dedicated to supporting programs that educate and promote healthy lifestyles and nutrition," said SUPERVALU dietitian Jennifer Shea, M.S., M.P.H., R.D. "Go Red For Women provides the information and the tools to empower women to make lifesaving choices about their health."

Making healthier choices got easier for shoppers at SUPERVALU retail stores with the 2009 launch of "nutrition iQ," a unique nutrition information program designed to help consumers make better-informed, better-for-you food choices at the store shelf. nutrition iQ was developed in collaboration with JOSLIN CLINIC, PART OF AN ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTER AFFILIATED WITH BOSTON'S HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL. The program is currently available at ACME, Albertsons, Cub Foods and Farm Fresh, and will be rolled out to all SUPERVALU banners this year.

The nutrition iQ program uses easy-to-see, color-coded shelf tags to help consumers quickly identify healthier food choices for themselves and their families. For example, someone striving for a heart-healthy diet could easily identify products by looking for the dark green low sodium nutrition iQ tag, excellent source of fiber orange tag, whole grain dark orange tag or red low saturated fat tag.

"When faced with more than 60,000 products on grocery shelves, it can be daunting to find healthy foods to fit your lifestyle," said Shea. "nutrition iQ helps promote overall health by taking the guesswork out of shopping for more nutritious food choices. It's like having your own personal dietitian in the store with you."