STEW LEONARD’S ANNOUNCES FARMER’S MARKET EVENTS

"It’s All Native" Fall Festival Features Local Growers, Cooking Demos, Free Samples,
Music and Children’s Activities all in a Country Fair Atmosphere

NORWALK, Conn., September 8, 2006 – To help customers connect to where their food comes from, Stew Leonard’s is holding "It’s All Native" Farmer’s Market events at all three stores during the month of September. Growers from family farms in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey will be on hand to answer questions about how to select, prepare and appreciate food that is grown locally.

"People may think they have to go to a farmers market to get locally grown produce and support small family farms. We’ve been doing business with local growers from the very beginning, and we thought it would be fun for customers to meet some of the local farmers whose produce we sell at the store," said Stew Leonard, Jr. president and CEO. "By buying produce direct from local farms, we’re able to offer customers just-picked fruits and vegetables delivered to the stores the same day they are harvested at a great price, since there is no middleman. The farmer benefits, as well as the customer."

In addition to supporting small family farms, other benefits of locally-grown produce are that it reduces the packaging and fuel needed for shipping. This also requires fewer pesticides to be used in the growing process, since extended storage and long-distance shipping is not needed.

The "It’s All Native" Farmer’s Market events will be held in the front of each store from Noon until 5:00 P.M. at the following locations and dates:
• Saturday, September 16: Stew Leonard’s Norwalk, Conn. store, at 100 Westport Ave
• Saturday, September 23: Stew Leonard’s Yonkers, NY store at One Stew Leonard’s Drive
• Saturday, September 30: Stew Leonard’s Danbury, Conn. store at 99 Federal Road

The events also feature activities for the whole family, including:
Chef’s Corner and Free Samples
      o Every hour on the hour, a Stew Leonard’s Chef will demonstrate a quick and easy recipe featuring locally-grown produce; customers will then have a chance to sample the dish and pick up recipe cards.
Face Painting and Free Balloons for Children
      o Members of Stew Leonard’s birthday party team will be on hand to conduct face painting and hand out free balloons and Dole® coloring books.
Apple Cider and Apple Cider Donuts for $1.00

"The farmers participating in these events welcome the opportunity to answer any customer questions, such as tips on selecting the best produce, new varieties they are growing, and favorite ways to cook and serve their produce," said Scott Varanko, manager of Stew Leonard’s Norwalk produce department.

Some of the featured produce and farms include:
      • Numerous Varieties of Apples from Blue Hills Farm in Wallingford, Conn. and Fix Apple Orchards in New York;
      • Extra Tender Corn from Pinecroft Produce in Somers, Conn. and Kessman Farms in Patterson, New York;
      • Tomatoes from DeMatteo Farms from Hamden, Conn. who grow Health Kick® plum tomatoes which contain 50 percent more lycopene than regular plum tomatoes;
      • Peppers, Eggplant, Lettuce and Squash from DeFrancesco Farm in Northford, Conn. and Marolda Farms in Vineland, New Jersey.

Meet Produce Pete
Produce Pete will be at the Yonkers store event on September 23 from 3:30 until 5:00 P.M. Pete's family started Napolito’s Produce in 1953 selling fruits and vegetables from his family’s farm in Bergenfield, New Jersey. In 1992, he became known as "Produce Pete" when he began appearing weekly on WNBC Channel 4’s "Weekend Today in New York" show, where his focus is on taking the mystery out of shopping for produce. His approach to picking out good produce uses common sense techniques learned from his 40 years in the business, such as "heavy in the hand" for citrus fruits and "apples with a stem are less mealy." Pete will answer customer questions and demonstrate tips for selecting the best of Fall’s harvest.

Stew Leonard’s, a family-owned and operated fresh food store founded in 1969, has three stores in Norwalk and Danbury, Conn. and Yonkers, N.Y., with a fourth store planned to open in early 2007 in Newington, Connecticut. The company was named among FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work" for the past five consecutive years.