FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Elizabeth Eckel, SVP Marketing, 401-348-1309
DATE: May 4, 2005

Washington Trust Collects More Than 8.5 Tons of Peanut Butter for Local Food Banks

Westerly, Rhode Island... The numbers are in - Washington Trust's fifth annual P.B. Xpress brought in more than 8.5 tons of peanut butter to help the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center in Connecticut. The Bank broke its own record of 7 tons it collected during the 2004 drive. The 8.5 tons of peanut butter will serve thousands of people in need, which is critical since the Rhode Island Community Food Bank alone serves 51,000 people each month.

Throughout the month of March, Washington Trust collected peanut butter at each of its sixteen branch offices in Rhode Island and southeastern CT. Donations were made by schools, businesses, bank employees and customers.

"We couldn't be happier that this year's drive was such a great success," said John C. Warren, chairman and CEO of The Washington Trust Company. "The eight-and-a-half tons of peanut butter collected will go a long way in providing for people who rely on local food banks, and Washington Trust is grateful to everyone who participated in the drive to help their neighbors in need."

"The peanut butter collected through Washington Trust's drive in March will be a great help to the Food Bank with providing a wonderful source of protein to the thousands of needy people the Food Bank serves," said Bernie Beaudreau, executive director of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. "Peanut butter is a much-needed and popular food item here, especially for the children and families who cannot afford to buy enough nutritional food for themselves," he added.

Radio station 92 WPRO FM's popular morning show team, "Giovanni and Kim!" promoted the drive on-air during March and held a live remote broadcast at the Bank's Cranston branch on Saturday, March 19. Some of the schools that had been collecting peanut butter, as well as members of the public donated peanut butter at the event, and over five tons were collected that day alone.

Ocean State Job Lot also made a generous donation of 2,119 jars of peanut butter, topping their donation during last year's drive of 1,000 jars, and KPMG LLP donated 136 jars.

Washington Trust will present the "Peanut Butter Cup" award to St. Mary's - Bay View Academy's Math Team for collecting 1,994 jars of peanut butter; the most collected by any organization. This is the second year in a row that the Bay View Math Team has won the award.

The schools that donated to the 2005 Washington Trust P.B. Xpress drive are:
Top Three Collections:

• St. Mary's - Bay View Academy (Riverside): 1,994 jars
• Lincoln Middle School: 708 jars
• Blessed Sacrament (Providence): 598 jars

Schools Collecting 200 or more jars:

• All Saints Academy (Middletown): 304 jars
• Austin T. Levy (Harrisville): 494 jars
• Birchwood School (North Providence): 500 jars
• Brown Avenue School (Johnston): 306 jars
• Cedar Hill Elementary (Warwick): 306 jars
• Curtis School (Pawtucket): 511 jars
• Gallagher Middle School (Smithfield): 217 jars
• Garden City School (Cranston): 280 jars
• George J. West Elementary (Providence): 247 jars
• Gladstone Street School (Cranston): 322 jars
• Greenbush Elementary School (West Warwick): 203 jars
• Monsignor Clarke School (Wakefield): 380 jars
• Oakland Beach School PTO (Warwick): 204 jars
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel School (Bristol): 391 jars
• St. Francis of Assisi (Warwick): 200 jars
• St. Pius X (Westerly): 219 jars
• Scott School (Warwick): 374 jars
• West Warwick High School: 203 jars
• Western Hills Jr. High (Cranston): 233 jars
• Wickford Elementary School: 202 jars

Schools Collecting up to 199 jars:

• Cales School (Johnston): 103 jars
• Chariho High School: 45 jars
• Dunn's Corner Elementary(Westerly): 189 jars
• East Providence Middle School: 132 jars
• Edward S. Rhodes School (Cranston): 149 jars
• Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary School (Providence): 130 jars
• Growing Children of Rhode Island (Wakefield): 40 jars
• LaSalle Academy (Providence): 46 jars
• Narragansett High School: 97 jars
• Narragansett Pier Middle School: 174 jars
• Quidnessett Elementary School (N. Kingstown): 130 jars
• Randall Holden Elementary School (Warwick): 102 jars
• Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority (Warwick): 90 jars
• Riverside Middle School: 150 jars
• Springbrook Elementary School (Westerly): 93 jars
• Village Lower School (East Greenwich): 80 jars
• West Bay Children's Center (Warwick): 107 jars
• Westerly High School: 175 jars
• White Neck School (East Providence): 87 jars

Seen at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank (RICFB) surrounded by some of the 8.5 tons of peanut butter collected through Washington Trust's P.B. Xpress are (left to right): Rosie Connors, director of development and communications, RICFB; Kim and Giovanni of 92 WPRO FM's morning show; Elizabeth B. Eckel, senior vice president - marketing, Washington Trust; and Will Gilbert, producer of the morning show for 92 WPRO FM.

The Washington Trust Company is the largest independent bank headquartered in Rhode Island. A state-chartered bank, Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including trust and investment management, through its 16 branch offices located in Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut. Founded in 1800, the Bank is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., whose common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market® under the symbol WASH. Web site address: www.washtrust.com.

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is a non-profit organization located in Providence, RI. The Food Bank solicits, stores and distributes food products donated by supermarkets, wholesalers, food processors, local farmers and community food drives. The food is then distributed to the Food Bank's network of approximately 440 member agency programs. In the past fiscal year ending June 30, the Food Bank distributed a record 8 million pounds of food. For more information about the Food Bank, please visit www.rifoodbank.org.