UNITED NATURAL FOODS LOCATES IN LANCASTER

Lancaster, TX - United Natural Foods, Inc. the leading national distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods has chosen Lancaster, Texas as the home of its twenty-first U.S. distribution facility.  UNFI will lease 590,000 square feet of distribution space in the ProLogis 20/35 Business Park located at IH20 & Houston School Road.  The facility will serve UNFI’s customer base throughout the Southwest including Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas and Louisiana.

The Lancaster location was chosen over several other possible locations in the DFW region.    “Our strategic location, available facilities, strong labor pool and a competitive incentive package were factors that tipped the scale in the favor of Lancaster as the preferred site for the company’s newest distribution operation”, commented Ed Brady, Director of Economic Development for the City of Lancaster.

Over 130 new jobs will be created in the first two years of operation with an opening date projected for the fall of 2010.  Design plans for the new facility are near completion and include: dry grocery as main program space; 54,000 SF of refrigeration and freezer space; an expanded cold dock; and nearly 20,000 SF for employee offices and workspaces.  Environmental design plans will focus on resource and energy conservation, use of sustainable and recycled-content building materials, and exceptional indoor air quality for the building occupants.  UNFI intends to submit an application to the USGBC for LEED ® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification upon completion of the build out.

Commenting on UNFI’s announcement, Marcus Knight, Mayor of the City of Lancaster stated, “Lancaster is delighted to be the home of UNFI’s newest distribution center.  We are all counting on this new partnership with UNFI to be one of long term mutual benefit and a terrific addition to the many corporations represented in Lancaster.  As Mayor of the City of Lancaster and on behalf of the City Council and citizens of Lancaster, we extend a very warm welcome to UNFI.”

The Lancaster Economic Development Corporation President, Todd Love remarked regarding the selection of Lancaster, “this project and its overall job and financial impact on the community is a good example of the mix of community assets and effective utilization of incentives that are required today to be in the business recruitment game”

United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes more than 60,000 products to more than 17,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores, independent retail operators and the food service channel. United Natural Foods, Inc. was ranked by Forbes in 2005 as one of the "Best Managed Companies in America," ranked by Fortune in 2006, 2007 and 2009 as one of its "Most Admired Companies," ranked by Business Ethics as one of its "100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2006" and winner of the Supermarket News 2008 Sustainability Excellence Award.