GIANT EAGLE RAISES MORE THAN $2 MILLION FOR UNITED WAY
Northeast Ohio Area Donates $528,891 Through Supermarket Retailer’s Efforts

(Cleveland, Ohio) March 17, 2004
Pittsburgh-based supermarket retailer Giant Eagle, Inc., announced today that the company generated more than $2,000,000 in employee, shopper and corporate contributions for the 2003 United Way campaign, exceeding its 2002 total by more than 29 percent. $528,891 of the total was raised in Northeast Ohio.

The company credits the record year to its 36,000 employees in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland who participated in the campaign and made individual contributions. Giant Eagle also thanks its shoppers who donated $48,000 to the United Way at the checkout. The money raised will support the following United Way affiliates in Northeast Ohio:

United Way Services of Greater Cleveland
Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way
United Way of Lake County
United Way of Summit County
United Way of Trumbull County
United Way of Greater Lorain County
United Way Services of Geauga County
United Way of Central Stark County
United Way of Southern Columbiana County
United Way of Ashtabula County
United Way of Portage County
United Way of Medina County
United Way of Tuscarawas County
Alliance /Alliance Area United Way
United Way of N.Columbiana County

“United Way is such a valuable resource for hundreds of community organizations, and we at Giant Eagle take a great deal of pride in being able to help them,” said Giant Eagle Chairman and CEO David Shapira. “My wife Karen and I are thankful for the opportunity to serve as chairpersons for this valuable community institution and we’re proud of our employee involvement in the campaign this year. With their generous contributions, Giant Eagle’s donation is that much more impactful to the thousands of people in our markets helped each year by the United Way.”

Beginning in September 2003, Giant Eagle stores, retail support centers and corporate offices raised funds using a variety of approaches, ranging from peer-to-peer solicitation to group activities. Store Manager Howard Wolf of the Stow Giant Eagle at 4300 Kent Road, State Road #59 hosted a “Pie in the Face” event to raise funds. In addition, independent store owners Jerry and Shari Mortimer of the Conneaut Giant Eagle at 199 Gateway Plaza, reported exceeding their store campaign goal by more than 20 percent to achieve a total of $12,088.

“Giant Eagle’s generosity is seen in every community where it has a presence. We are especially grateful for the partnership we have with the stores in our area because both workers and customers certainly prove that with United Way, we do great things together,” said K. Michael Benz, president and chief executive officer, United Way Services of Greater Cleveland.

About United Way
United Way Services, a volunteer-driven organization that raised more than $46.5 million in 2003, is the largest private funder of local health and human services. For more than 90 years, Greater Clevelanders have counted on United Way’s local safety net of care provided by donor support of nearly 200 programs through a network of 128 partner agencies. Today’s United Way also embraces an added dimension, that of being a leading convener and funder of partnerships focused on solutions for Greater Cleveland’s long-term health and human services priorities, taking a leading role in the Community Vision Council initiative.

About Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle Inc., ranked 26 on Forbes Magazine’s largest private corporations list and recent recipient of Progressive Grocer’s Retailer of the Year Award and the Pillar Community Service Award, is one of the nation’s largest food retailers and food distributors with more than $4.7 billion in annual sales. Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle, Inc. has grown to be the number one supermarket retailer in the region with 138 corporate and 84 independently owned and operated stores throughout western Pennsylvania, Ohio, north central West Virginia and Maryland.

An active community partner, Giant Eagle provides support for local food banks, community events, the United Way and other nonprofit organizations. The official supermarket of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers, the company has also created education initiatives such as Apples For The Students, which has provided millions of dollars in computer equipment, software and other classroom learning tools for local schools and the Be A Smart Shopper school nutrition program. Further information can be found at GiantEagle.com.