Why they won

The Child magazine article lists a wide range of family-friendly factors found at supermarkets run by the 11 winners. Here are some of the highlights the magazine discovered at each of the retailers:

Wegmans stands out for its overall shopping atmosphere, its emphasis on helping customers make healthy food choices, and its well-known commitment to food safety. Other factors helping to make the Rochester, N.Y.-based retailer the most family-friendly supermarket chain: 27 Wkids Fun Centers that keep children ages 3 to 8 occupied while their parents shop; a Wegmans line of foods just for kids; cake decorating on Mother's Day and Father's Day, as well as breakfast with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny; participation in community service programs; and ATMs (all stores), pharmacies and photo developing (63 stores), juice bars (50), cafes with high chairs (36), and dry cleaners (15).

Giant Eagle, headquartered in Pittsburgh and PG's 2002 Retailer of the Year, gets high marks for its focus on education, exemplified by the Eagle's Nest centers in 84 stores, where kids can have fun and learn while their parents shop and where managers have degrees in education. Giant Eagle's loyalty card is tied to the Apples for Students program, and in 15 years the program has provided schools with more than $21 million for computers and other educational tools. Among the chain's other pluses are the Be a Smart Shopper program that teaches elementary school students how to make healthy meals and manage money, diaper-changing tables and special parking for pregnant women at most stores, and etiquette classes for kids at 84 stores.

Publix offers clubs that benefit parents, computer learning for kids, store-brand ice cream in fun flavors, and a series of radio spots focusing on family issues. And it has employees who carry groceries to shoppers' cars. The Lakeland, Fla.-based chain is testing a computer center where kids can learn while their shopping parents can keep in touch with them via radios.

Ukrop's has classes where kids learn to make healthy snacks, offers a children's menu in the prepared foods section, has baggers who carry purchases to the car, gives kids free cookies, and has a policy that another register will be opened any time there are four people at a checkout. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., the retailer sponsors more than 30 kid-friendly events every year.

Harris Teeter has a policy limiting the wait for scanning to start at checkout to a minute. The Matthews, N.C.-based chain carries its own line of Harry the Dragon foods for children, features a fun page for kids on its Web site, and provides diaper-changing tables in men's and women's rest rooms in all stores. Since 1998, the retailer has donated more than $3.5 million to local schools.

Hy-Vee not only has a children's menu in the prepared foods department, it also lets parents order any meal in a child-size portion. The West Des Moines, Iowa-based chain has seven full-time dietitians who organize healthy-cooking classes for kids, offers a family health fair at most of its stores, and features weekly kids' nights at about half its supermarkets.

Whole Foods Market, with headquarters in Austin, Texas, boasts the first line of organic foods developed specifically for children, called Whole Kids. It also has seasonal activities for youngsters, provides kids' cooking tips and recipes on its Web site, and at more than 20 stores offers grab-and-go natural lunches for kids.

Farmer Jack gives shoppers points that are redeemable for such services as spa gift certificates and free housecleaning. Parents in the baby club offered by the Detroit-based unit of A&P get $20 cash for every $200 they spend on baby supplies. The retailer also offers children's events centered on having fun and learning about safety.

Wild Oats has diaper-changing tables at all stores, but about 20 percent of them also have private areas for nursing mothers, and more are planned. The chain, which is headquartered in Boulder, Colo., offers pregnancy yoga classes and cooking classes for kids, coordinates a Prom Dress Drive, and gives holiday toys to disadvantaged children.

IGA, the Chicago-based Independent Grocers Alliance, holds an annual KidsFest with a treasure hunt and prizes, sponsors an essay contest that gives 6- to 12-year-olds and their teachers a chance to win a trip to the U.S. Space Camp, and has a Hometown Kids Club with field trips, pool parties, and scholarships. Individual IGA retailers host a wide range of other family-oriented programs in their communities.

Raley's requires its store directors and managers to take a 25- to 30-hour course in food safety every three years, and it helps educate parents on the topic with workshops, cooking demonstrations, and brochures. The West Sacramento, Calif.-based chain's nutritionist conducts sessions at which kids in grades three to five can taste healthy foods, and it has PlayCare areas at 19 stores.