Kroger Co. Aiming to Raise $5 Million For Hunger Programs With Promotion and Campaign

Grocers Doing Good

Food and Grocery retailing company Kroger's two- week Bringing Hope to the Table chain-wide promotion and fundraising campaign to raise millions of dollars for Feeding America food banks across America is into its second week. The program started May 29 and ends June 11.

Kroger Co., which is the second-largest retailer of food and groceries in the U.S. after Walmart Stores, Inc., says its goal in the two-week campaign is to generate a whopping $4.5-$5 million worth of financial and food product donations for over 80 Feeding America food banks in regions and cities where its numerous grocery chains are located, including in California, Nevada and Arizona, where Tesco has its 175 Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores.

All of the retailer's grocery chains in California - Ralphs and Food 4 Less in Southern and Central California; Foods Co. in Northern California - Arizona - Fry's Food Stores - and Nevada - Smith's and Food 4 Less - are participating in the program and promotion, along with all its other divisions and chains located throughout the U.S. (Kroger's Los Angeles-based Food 4 Less chain also has stores in Illinois and Indiana.)

Vendor Partners

The May 29-June 11 promotion is a partnership between Kroger and a number of its vendors, including Kraft Foods, General Mills, Pepsi/Frito-Lay, Clorox Co. and others, including the brands and products pictured above.

How it works: Products from these consumer packaged goods companies are identified on shelves throughout the stores with the Bringing Hope to the Table yellow shelf talkers pictured below. When shoppers purchase these brands and items, the companies make a donation as part of Kroger's campaign to raise money for Feeding America and its local food banks.

Additionally, the participating vendors are also supporting the Kroger campaign financially by giving money when shoppers download certain digital coupons from Kroger's website, as you can see here.

Kroger Co. has also set up a special website (here) where individuals can locate and make a donation to their local Feeding America food bank, using the form on this page.

The two-week Bringing Hope to the Table promotion is part of Kroger's (and its associates) on-going campaign and commitment to raising money and food donations for Feeding America and it food bank network.

For example, in Southern California employees of Kroger's Ralphs' chain visit a local Feeding America food bank in San Diego twice each month to fill bags of food for the BackPacks program for children. The kids take the free backpacks filled with food home with them as a way to ensure there's enough food on the table, not only to bring them hope but to fill their stomachs and help keep them alert at school.

Additionally, each year on the weekend before the famous Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, California, employees of Kroger's Ralphs' and Food 4 Less chains in Southern California participate in  "Operation Gobble Gobble," which is the city of Pasadena's annual holiday hunger outreach project.

The program annually provides full holiday meals for about 400 local families. The Ralphs' and Food 4 Less stores in Southern California donate turkeys, stuffing mix, vegetables and pumpkin pies for each of the meals. In addition, numerous associates volunteer their time along with other community members to fill the food boxes and distribute them to the participating food banks and pantries.

Employees at a number of Kroger's other U.S. grocery chains are donating their time to help the hungry just like the associates in Southern California are.

Ralphs' president Mike Donnelly says the Southern California food banks benefiting from the Bringing Hope to the Table campaign are: Feeding America San Diego; FIND (Indio); Food Bank of Santa Barbara County; Food Share (Oxnard); Los Angeles Regional Foodbank; Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County; and Second Harvest Food Bank Serving Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

Last year Ralphs-Food 4 Less combined provided over $4 million in financial and food assistance to local food banks in the states and regions where its stores operate, according to Donnelly.

According to Kroger Co., all its chains combined provided about $11.5 million in financial assistance and more than 65 million pounds of food to local food banks in 2010.

Kroger Co. has also been operating a food rescue program since 2008, called the Perishable Donations Partnership (PDP). Under the program, the retailer's supermarket chains can donate fresh meat, produce, dairy and bakery items that can no longer be sold to local food banks.

Last year the PDP program resulted in millions of pounds of perishable food that otherwise would have been thrown away being donated by Kroger-owned chains to the food banks.

Last year, Kroger raised about $4 million - $3 million in cash and $1 million in food product donations - in its two-week Bringing Hope to the Table promotion and campaign. [Read our June 10, 2010 story here: Kroger Co. Launches Two-Week 'Bringing Hope to the Table' Campaign; Commits $4 Million to 'Feeding America'.]

Over the last decade Kroger Co. says it has donated the equivalent of 560 milon meals to food banks in the parts of the U.S. were its supermarket chains and stores operate.

That, and all the above, is an example of a "Grocer Doing Good" on a significant and meaningful scale.

Click here to learn more about Kroger's Bringing Hope to the Table campaign.

Below are a few facts about hunger and food insecurity in America from Feeding America:

>37 million American's don’t know where they'll get their next meal.
>14 million of them are children
>3 million of them are senior citizens.
>36% of these households have one or more working adults.
>48% of these households are in rural and suburban areas.

 Click here to learn more at Feeding America's website.

Kroger's Ralphs-Food 4 Less Chain Launches Fundraising Drive for USO and Members of the U.S. Military

Southern California Market Region Report
Memorial Day 2011

Kroger's Los Angeles-based Ralphs/Food 4 Less chain is launching a checkstand-based fundraising drive for the USO (United Service Organizations) in its 254 Ralphs' banner supermarkets in California and Nevada and its 147 Food 4 Less and Foods Co discount warehouse stores in California, Nevada, Illinois and Indiana.

The USO has for 70-years provided aid, comfort, cheer and entertainment to active duty members of the U.S. military and their families throughout the United States and abroad.

Kroger's Los Angeles-based Ralphs/Food 4 Less chain is launching a checkstand-based fundraising drive in its 254 Ralphs' supermarkets in California and Nevada and 147 Food 4 Less and Foods Co price-impact warehouse stores in California, Nevada, Illinois and Indiana, for the  (United Service Organizations), which for 70-years has provided active duty members of the U.S. military and their families with aid, comfort, cheer and entertainment throughout the United States and abroad.

The fundraising program, called "Honoring Our Heroes," is being launched in the 401 stores this week and will run until August 13, 2001, according to Mike Donnelly, president of Ralphs, and Bryan Kaltenbach, president of Kroger's Food 4 Less/Food Co chain.

Customers of the stores can donate money to the USO simply by donating their spare change (currency excepted as well) in collection canisters that have been set up at the checkstands in all the stores.

All the money donated between now and August 13 will be given directly to the USO to help it support the numerous programs and entertainment events it provides to members of the U.S. armed services.

Kicking off the program today, Ralphs' Donnelly said: "We salute our troops and thank them for the sacrifices they make to protect us. Ralphs is delighted to be able to help our troops through our support of local USO chapters."

Kaltenbach, president of sister chain Food 4 Less/Foods Co, echoed Donnelly's sentiments: "We are very proud to show our support of the U.S. military by raising funds for the USO," he said. "The USO's mission is important in letting active duty military personnel know the citizens of the United States appreciate their efforts."

The Ralphs/Food 4 Less in-store fundraising program is part of a major commitment Kroger Co. made earlier this year at the Daytona 500 auto race to expand what has been an ongoing relationship it has with the USO.

At the race on February 20, Kroger Co. presented the USO with a check for $400,000, which was donated by customers and employes from fundraising programs held in 2010 at about 1,300 Kroger-operated stores across the U.S., including its Ralphs, Food 4 Less, Dillon's and Baker's banner chain's.

Kroger announced at the event a pledge to expand its efforts this year to raise even more money for the USO through in-store fundraisers like the checkstand donation program, various online-based promotions and a text-to-give campaign it conducted during the race on February 20, in which the grocer sent text messages to its data base of shoppers encouraging them to text "USO" to 27722 during the race as a way of donating $10 to USO programs.

Kroger has over 350 associates who are active duty or reservist members of the U.S. military, according to the company.

At the Daytona 500 the food and grocery retailer, the USO and JTG Daugherty Racing painted a special Kroger emblem on the red, white and blue #47 Kroger-USO car, which was driven by NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte. The emblem featured the names of the more than 350 Kroger associates who are active duty or reservist members of the U.S. military. Kroger was the exclusive retail partner for the Daytona 500 race.

Earlier his month, on May 3, consumer packaged goods giant Proctor & Gamble (P&G) teamed up with Kroger in an ongoing nationwide and chain-wide promotion to raise even more money for the USO as part of the retailer's "Honoring Our Heroes" campaign and its year-long commitment to the service organization.

As part of the partnership Kroger and P&G created a digital opportunity for people to virtually “shake the hand of a hero," which is considered the proper gesture to use with U.S. troops in uniform to thank them for their service to our country.

The first 50,000 people to utilize the web application to shake a hero’s hand on http://www.honoringourheroes.com/ will receive a special offer on one of the following P&G brands: Tide, Downy, Gillette, Pantene, Old Spice and Prilosec, according to P&G.

Through the partnership with P&G, Kroger will make a $250,000 donation to the USO, which is in in addition to the money raised during the May-August checkstand fundraising program, which is also being conducted at some of Kroger's other chains in the U.S.

Kroger and P&G also launched their joint-program in early May by offering a week-long promotion at all the retailer's chains and stores in which shoppers received a $5 instant rebate when they purchased any 10 P&G brand items out of many offered in what was named the "Mega Event" sales promotion.

You can visit the Kroger-Proctor & Gamble "Honoring Our Heroes" website here. It includes a variety of features, including ways all of us can honor those serving in the U.S. military. And with Memorial Day just a few days away, now is the perfect time to what you can to show your support.

The USO, which was founded 70-years ago, has a simple but not always easy to fulfill mission, which is to lift the spirits of America's troops and their families wherever they are deployed.

The non-profit service organization meets its mission by offering active duty members of the military and their families an extensive range of programs at more than 160 locations in 27 U.S. states and in 14 countries.

It also puts on hundreds of entertainment events each year as part of its spirit-lifting mission. The entertainers the USO brings to the troops throughout the world, including in Iraq and Afghanistan, include famous comedians and singers - and much more.

The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is a big time of year for the USO, although so are the other 360-plus days of the year.

You can learn how the USO is honoring active duty troops and veterans this Memorial Day Weekend at its website here, along with learning about ways you can help the organization in its mission to lift the spirits of members of the U.S. military and their families 365-days of the year.

Related Story - May 25, 2011: 'Side by Side': Wine at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Aids America's Wounded Warriors.