Walgreens Launches Expanded Food Selection in 10 Chicago Stores to Address Food Desert Issue

Walgreens (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) today will unveil its new expanded food selection in several Chicago communities identified as food deserts, or areas that lack access to basic foods necessary to maintain a healthy diet. Walgreens has redesigned 10 of its stores on Chicago’s South and West Sides to include more than 750 new food items including fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meats and fish, pasta, rice, beans, eggs, whole grain cereals and other healthy meal components.

The expanded food selection is now available at the following Walgreens locations:

• 2340 W. Madison St. (Madison St. & Western Ave.)
• 10300 S. Michigan Ave. (Michigan Ave. & 103rd St.)
• 1533 E. 67th Place (67th Place & Stony Island)
• 1213 W. 79th St. (79th St. & Racine Ave.)
• 5036 S. Cottage Grove Ave. (Cottage Grove Ave. & 51st St.)
• 8636 S. Ashland Ave. (Ashland Ave. & 87th St.)

Four additional locations will be completed by the end of the month, including:

• 650 W. 63rd St. (63rd St. & Halsted Parkway)
• 2015 E. 79th St. (79th St. & Jeffery Blvd.)
• 11040 S. Michigan Ave. (Michigan Ave. & 111th St.)
• 5222 W. Madison St. (Madison St. & Laramie Ave.)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 600,000 Chicago residents live in neighborhoods that are either lacking or too far away from conventional grocery stores. Last spring, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley appealed to Walgreens, as Chicago’s most accessible neighborhood retailer, for help addressing the food desert problem.

"We immediately made a commitment to seek solutions for offering these communities more fresh and healthy food options,” said Mark Wagner, Walgreens executive vice president of operations and community management. "Walgreens has taken great pride in meeting the needs of Chicago communities since opening our first store on the city’s South Side 109 years ago. Today, we couldn’t be more pleased to provide additional basic staples that will inevitably help improve health outcomes for many in these previously underserved communities.”

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said, "This is a great step forward in addressing the challenge of neighborhoods that have limited availability of healthy foods, and I want to thank Walgreens for its commitment to making Chicago a better place and helping Chicagoans live healthier lives.”

In addition, Walgreens has joined forces with Northwestern Medicine and Near North Health Service Corp. to pilot a program designed to educate residents in food desert communities about the link between healthy food choices and preparation and better management of chronic illnesses like diabetes.

Through Northwestern’s and Near North’s Diabetes Collaborative, the pilot program will offer food "prescriptions” to diabetes patients at Near North’s Komed Holman Health Center for healthy foods now available at Walgreens. Patients will receive discounts on featured items at the 67th and Stony Island Walgreens, and shelf tags are posted there to help patients easily identify healthy food options. This model could be replicated with other Near North health centers located near Walgreens food desert stores in the future.

The concept, termed "Food Oasis” by Northwestern, illustrates the community benefit of public and private entities proactively working together to address health care needs.

"We view our Food Oasis offering with Walgreens as a way to meaningfully expand on our 40-year partnership with Near North and to provide added support to patients in our Diabetes Collaborative,” said Northwestern Memorial President and CEO Dean M. Harrison. "With more convenient access to healthier foods and health education programs, we believe Food Oasis could ultimately help improve health care outcomes for thousands across the city. We are hopeful this program can be expanded to patients with hypertension, obesity and much more.”

Walgreens, Northwestern Memorial and Near North are marking the official launch of the new initiative with a community celebration at the 67^th and Stony Island Walgreens kicking off today at noon. Mayor Daley, Alderman Leslie Hairston and other community leaders will join top Walgreens, Northwestern and Near North executives for the launch. The event will also feature an appearance by nationally syndicated radio host Doug Banks who, as a longtime diabetes survivor, has strongly advocated for more prevention and management education. Other activities at the celebration include a healthy cooking demonstration by Near North, blood pressure and blood glucose screenings, a fitness demonstration with the South Side YMCA, a performance by the South Shore Drill Team and plenty of healthy food sampling and giveaways.

Walgreens is reviewing opportunities to bring its expanded food selection to other food deserts across the country. "We know this issue is not exclusive to Chicago,” said Wagner. "We have more locations in America’s underserved communities than any other retailer. That makes us well positioned to play a role in addressing this important need beyond Chicago.”

Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) is the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2009 sales of $63 billion. The company operates 7,545 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. Walgreens scope of pharmacy services includes retail, specialty, infusion, medical facility, long-term care and mail service, along with pharmacy benefit solutions and respiratory services. These services improve health outcomes and lower costs for payers including employers, managed care organizations, health systems, pharmacy benefit managers and the public sector. Walgreens Take Care Health Systems subsidiary is the largest and most comprehensive manager of worksite health centers and in-store convenient care clinics, with more than 700 locations throughout the country.