The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) recently donated more than 320,000 loaves of frozen artisan bread, valued at $1-million, to Feeding America food banks across more than a dozen states. Participating food banks include: Feeding America Southwest Virginia in Salem, VA (received 4,000 loaves); Freestore Food Bank in Cincinnati, OH; Food Lifeline in Puyallup, WA; Utah Food Bank in Layton, UT; Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis, TN; St. Mary’s Food Bank in Tolleson, AZ; Houston Food Bank, Tarrant Area Food Bank in Dallas, TX; Food Bank of the Rockies in Aurora, CO; and Gleaners Community Food Bank in Romulus, MI.
“With the holiday season fast approaching, this donation could not have come at a better time,” said Pamela Irvine, CEO of Feeding America Southwest Virginia. “Kroger is a community partner that is there for us year round, and we’re looking forward to distributing all 4,000 loaves to people across southwest Virginia.”
One in nine Americans struggle with hunger every day, while 40 percent of the food produced in the country goes uneaten. Today’s donation represents another step in the company’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact commitment designed to reverse those trends.
“Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste vision was designed to use our scale for good to create positive change in every community where we operate,” said Allison McGee, corporate affairs manager for Kroger Mid-Atlantic. “Kroger is always searching for ways we can make fresh food available for everyone. Today’s donation will bring fresh baked bread to the holiday celebrations for thousands of families in the communities we serve.”
To learn more about Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, visit thekrogerco.com and follow the journey at #ZeroHungerZeroWaste.
About Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division:
The Mid-Atlantic Division operates more than 100 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio. Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Division employs about 14,000 associates. Kroger Mid-Atlantic is dedicated to eliminating hunger in the communities it serves through partnerships with nine Feeding America food banks and numerous local organizations. The grocers Zero Hunger | Zero Waste efforts are aimed at ending hunger in Kroger communities and eliminating waste in stores by 2025. Kroger also supports breast cancer research, the military and their families and more than 4,000 nonprofit organizations. Kroger Mid-Atlantic donated $5.5 million to charity last year and 3,295,485 pounds of food to food bank partners.
