STEW LEONARD’S DONATES MORE THAN
1,200 TURKEYS TO COMMUNITY
        Offers Customers Complete Thanksgiving Meal For Hassle-Free Holiday

NORWALK, Conn., November 12, 2003 – Stew Leonard’s is donating a record amount of turkeys this year to organizations in the Norwalk and Danbury, Connecticut and Yonkers, New York communities where the family-owned company has food stores, continuing a holiday tradition that started more than 20 years ago. On November 20, nearly 50 organizations will receive a total of 1,200 turkeys from Stew Leonard’s to go toward food baskets and community Thanksgiving meals.  The organizations range from church and civic groups, elderly housing and senior nutrition programs, schools as well as police and fire departments.

“This year, we’ll have roughly the same number of people ordering a Thanksgiving turkey from Stew’s catering departments as the number of turkeys we are donating in the community.  This can be the start of a new tradition – for every Thanksgiving catering order we receive, our Stew Leonard’s customers are helping to put a turkey on the table for a less fortunate family.  That’s what the holiday is all about, after all,” said Stew Leonard, Jr., President and CEO of Stew Leonard’s.

Stew Leonard’s Catering offers a complete Thanksgiving dinner for eight people, including a freshly roasted marinated turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, string beans almondine, cranberry orange sauce, 12 dinner rolls and choice of pie for $110 – less than $14 a person.

“Every item on our Thanksgiving menu is prepared fresh by my team of chefs, and can be picked up at the store or delivered,” said Chef George Llorens, Executive Chef at Stew Leonard’s.  “We are even adding some low-carbohydrate items to the menu this year, for our customers following the popular “low-carb” weight loss plans.  We’ll have a low-carb gravy, stuffing, five grain rolls and mashed potatoes (substituting cauliflower for potatoes).  I am currently perfecting a low-carb cranberry sauce, too.” 
 
Stew Leonard’s Thanksgiving catering menu can be picked up in any Stew Leonard’s store, and   can be viewed on the web site at www.stewleonards.com.  Stew’s catering consultants are also available by phone -- Norwalk:  203.847.7214; Danbury: 203.790.8030; Yonkers:  914.375.4700.  It is recommended that holiday orders be placed two weeks in advance.  Delivery is available in the Danbury and Norwalk store locations (except for Thanksgiving day).

Talking Turkey – Stew Leonard, Jr. Offers Tips for Picking the Best Bird 
During the holiday season, Stew Leonard’s sells 40,000 turkeys or approximately 600,000 pounds.  According to the National Turkey Federation, 95 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving adding up to approximately 46 million turkeys.  The average weight of a purchased Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds.  

“I recommend people buy fresh turkeys over frozen ones when possible, since they tend to retain more of their natural juices and therefore are more tender,” explains Stew Leonard, Jr., president and CEO of Stew Leonard’s.  “We sell only fresh, all-natural turkeys, raised in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.  Our turkeys are fed a diet of corn, soy and other natural feed with no artificial additives, hormones or preservatives, so they are naturally tender and juicy.” 

Customers frequently ask what size turkey they should buy.  “As a quick rule of thumb, I recommend buying one pound of uncooked turkey per person,” Stew, Jr. suggests. “For cooking, a general rule is 15 to 18 minutes per pound in a 325 degree oven, or until the internal temperature is 180 degrees.  For a 15 pound turkey, that translates to 3 ¾  to 4 ½ hours.”

Many customers also ask Stew Leonard’s Wine Shops their picks for the best wines to serve with a Thanksgiving meal.  Here are Stew’s favorites:

Best Champagne

• Madame Kimberly:  Produced by one of the oldest families in Champagne, and sourced from vineyards in Epernay, an area that houses such famous producers as Perrier Jouet, Piper Heidsieck and Dom Perignon.  This elegant champagne is made exclusively for Stew Leonard’s and is specially priced for the holidays at $24.99.

Best Value Pinot Noir

• Marie des Fontaines:  We are amazed at how delicious this wine is for the price ($6.99 per bottle or three for $18.00.)  Fruity reds like pinot noirs work well with traditional Thanksgiving foods, especially if some of the side dishes also contain fruit.

Best Valpolicella

• Allegrini Valpolicella:  A soft, flavor-packed red wine that is always a crowd pleaser.  This wine is from one of Italy’s top wineries, who have been making wine for 400 years.  It is a great value at $9.99.

Stew Leonard’s was dubbed the “Disneyland of Dairy Stores” by the New York Times, because of its own milk processing plant, costumed characters, scheduled entertainment, petting zoo and animatronics throughout the stores. The company has received worldwide acclaim for excellence in customer service and quality and was named to FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For in America” list in 2002.  For more information, visit Stew Leonard’s website at www.stewleonards.com.