Spartan Stores Holds Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Spartan Stores, Inc., (Nasdaq:SPTN) held its 2006 Annual Meeting of Shareholders today at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In remarks today at the meeting, Spartan Stores' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Craig C. Sturken reported on the Company's three-year financial improvement record, its solid financial condition, growing retail and distribution market share and position as the leading grocery distributor in Michigan and leading conventional supermarket operator in western and northern Michigan.

"Our management team and associates have spent the past several years stabilizing our business and implementing many fundamental changes to our strategy and operations," stated Mr. Sturken. "The results of these changes and a track record of successful business plan execution are evident in our strong and sustaining financial improvements, initiation of a cash dividend policy, and the significant improvement in our share price during the past several years.

"While facing intense market competition, we made significant business progress during fiscal 2006 culminating in our purchase of D&W Food Centers retail stores and reaching a five-year high in net earnings from continuing operations for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. Fiscal 2007 is off to a strong start, as we reached a five-year high in our recently announced first-quarter net sales.

"Our organization is now focused on the growth phases of our business plan to position the company for profitable and sustainable growth. As part of this phase, we will more fully capitalize on our consumer centric and customer convenience business strategies. Our growth plans include expanding our fuel centers, introducing more award-winning private-label products and brands, evaluating opportunistic retail store acquisitions, adding more convenience services, like walk-in health clinics, to select stores and expanding our retail and distribution businesses in Ohio and Indiana."

At the annual meeting, shareholders re-elected directors M. Shan Atkins, Dr. Frank M. Gambino, and Timothy J. O'Donovan to three-year terms expiring at the 2009 annual meeting of shareholders.

M. Shan Atkins has been a director of the Spartan Stores since 2003. Since 2001, Ms. Atkins has been Managing Director of Chetrum Capital LLC, a private investment firm. She is also a director of The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe and Jack, an auto parts and service retailer whose common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and serves as Chair of that company's audit committee. Ms. Atkins is also a director of Shoppers Drug Mart, Inc., a retail drug store chain whose stock is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Dr. Gambino has been a director of Spartan Stores since 2003. Since 2003, Dr. Gambino has been the Director of the Food Marketing Program at the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University (WMU). He also served as an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Haworth School from 1993 to 2002 and has been on the WMU faculty since 1984.

Timothy J. O'Donovan has been a director of Spartan Stores since 2003. Since April 2005, Mr. O'Donovan has served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Wolverine World Wide, Inc., a footwear company whose common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He is also a director of Kaydon Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of bearing systems whose stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shareholders also ratified Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company's independent auditors for fiscal 2007.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are identifiable by words or phrases indicating that an event or trend "will" occur or "continue," that the Company will "sustain" financial improvements, or that Spartan Stores or its management "plans" a particular result. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. Our ability to realize growth opportunities, achieve expected sales and earnings, implement plans and strategies, and continue to pay dividends is not certain and depends on many factors, not all of which are in our control. Additional information about the factors that may adversely affect these forward-looking statements is contained in Spartan Stores' reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as predictions of future results. Spartan Stores undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect developments or information obtained after the date of this press release.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Spartan Stores, Inc., (Nasdaq:SPTN) is the nation's tenth largest grocery distributor with warehouse facilities in Grand Rapids and Plymouth, Michigan. The Company distributes more than 40,000 private-label and national brand products to 350 independent grocery stores in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Spartan Stores also owns and operates 68 retail supermarkets and 19 deep-discount food and drug stores in Michigan and Ohio, including Family Fare Supermarkets, Glen's Markets, D&W Fresh Markets, and The Pharm.