Food Lion's investments offer customers lower prices on 6,000 items throughout the store and access to quality store brand products at new lower prices, including the company's my essentials products. The company also improved its produce as part of its "Fresh From the Field" initiative. Customers will experience better quality, enhanced freshness and expanded variety in Food Lion's produce section. In addition, Food Lion's produce is backed by a double-your-money-back guarantee. Also, customers should have an easy and convenient shopping experience, such as faster checkout. A list of the 178 stores is available at www.foodlion.com/corporate/pressroom.

To celebrate the launch, Food Lion is holding grand re-opening festivities at the 178 stores, including providing the first 50 customers at each location a bag of free groceries today through Saturday, May 18. 

The company also plans to kick off a week of giving by donating fresh produce and store brand products to local charities, including $5,000 to the Maryland Food Bank in Baltimore, MD; $5,000 to the Delaware Food Bank in Milford, DE; $5,000 to the Fredericksburg Food Bank in Fredericksburg, VA; and $5,000 to the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C. In addition, Food Lion will continue working with these food banks in its ongoing efforts to fight food insecurity and relieve hunger in our communities.  By the end of 2013, Food Lion is on track to donate more than 245,000 lb of food in these markets.

With today's announcement, more than 800 Food Lion locations have received these investments, representing nearly 80 percent of its store base.  The company launched 167 stores in the Raleigh and Fayetteville, N.C., markets in May 2011, 268 stores in March 2012 in Virginia, West Virginia and the outer banks of North Carolina, and 269 stores in its hometown markets of Salisbury, N.C, and Charlotte, N.C., in July 2012.