Safeway Seeks to Reward ‘America’s Most Natural City’

Safeway is tapping the power of Facebook to bolster attention for its new 100 percent natural Open Nature line and determine “America's Most Natural City,” which when determined later this month, will be awarded with 25 picnic tables, sectioned off from the 305-foot Douglas Fir table that recently broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Longest Picnic Table.

Safeway will also donate $20,000 to the winning city's local parks and recreation organization to aid with maintaining their park facilities, which have come under pressure from country-wide budget cuts. Everyone who votes will have the opportunity to win a year's supply of free Open Nature foods – all of which are free of artificial ingredients, including coloring, flavors, sweeteners, additives, and preservatives -- that cover every meal of the day from granola and yogurt in the morning to sausage, chicken, and pasta for dinner, to ice cream for dessert.

"When we developed Open Nature, we listened to our customers to help us define what natural should mean when it comes to their food," said Nancy Cota, VP of innovation, consumer brands at Safeway. "We heard what they were looking for in natural foods, it's now time to hear what they think makes their city the most natural city in the U.S. Whether it's their parks, outdoor activities or their promise to be environmentally friendly, we want to reward that city's commitment to being natural. Local parks and recreation departments across the country told us they need support due to budget cuts and we want to step up and make a difference,” added Cota.

Running through Friday, Sept. 16, consumers can visit www.Facebook.com/Safeway and vote for one of 15 pre-selected cities where Safeway and its family of stores have a significant presence in the community. From the nation's capital to the luscious green landscapes of the West, the contenders include: Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tucson and Washington, D.C. Fans can vote up to 100 times, not only for their favorite city to win, but to increase their own odds of winning a year's supply of naturally delicious Open Nature foods.

Fans are encouraged to post to their own Facebook wall to urge their friends and neighbors to also vote for their city and list the characteristics that deem their city worthy of the title.