United Natural Foods Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Successfully Implemented at Distribution Center

United Natural Foods, Inc. today announced that the hydrogen fuel cell technology project at its Sarasota, FL distribution center has been successfully completed and is fully operational. Designed to improve efficiency, productivity and reliability, 65 GenDrive™ fuel cell powered lift trucks have been mobilized at the Sarasota distribution facility. The conversion of UNFI's Sarasota lift truck fleet to hydrogen fuel cells is expected to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 132 metric tons annually, an amount equivalent to the annual emissions of 35 automobiles, and is expected to create annual energy savings of approximately 640,000 kilowatt hours. The project was previously announced on March 12, 2010.

Tom Dziki, Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development, commented, "We're pleased to successfully complete this project, which retrofitted 36 existing lift trucks to hydrogen fuel cell technology and added 29 new hydrogen fuel cell-powered lift trucks to our fleet. We are happy to be pioneering the use of this technology in Florida as hydrogen fuel cells not only provide greater productivity and lower operating costs but will be an important component of a clean energy future."

As background, a hydrogen fuel cell produces energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen in an electrochemical reaction that yields electricity, heat and water. Hydrogen is non-toxic, non-poisonous, the lightest of all gases and the most abundant element in the universe.

UNFI partnered with a number of companies to successfully implement the roll-out, including Plug Power Inc., Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. and Abel Womack, Inc.

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc. (http://www.unfi.com) carries and distributes more than 60,000 products to more than 17,000 customer locations 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 – 2010 as one of its "Most Admired Companies," winner of the Supermarket News 2008 Sustainability Excellence Award, and recognized by the Nutrition Business Journal for its 2009 Environment and Sustainability Award.

For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's website at www.unfi.com.