Kroger Sets New Public Service Milestone
The Kroger Co. will bring together more than 4,800 associates at the Kentucky Exposition Center on April 16 to assemble an estimated 17,000 emergency food and personal care boxes for folks in the Louisville, Ky., area - the largest, one-day volunteer effort by a single company to support the Dare to Care Food Bank, Kroger's local Feeding America partner.
The event will take place during the Louisville community's second annual "Give A Day" volunteer week of public service, April 13-21. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer cited Kroger's planned efforts as playing a prominent role in helping break the community's own 2012 record of 90,000 volunteers and acts of compassion. The Kroger event alone will contribute an estimated 7,500 volunteer hours toward the city's goal for 2013.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in Louisville's 'Give A Day' public service week, and celebrate the variety of ways our stores across the country partner with local food banks," said Lynn Marmer, Kroger's group VP of corporate affairs. "From fresh and non-perishable product donations, to thousands of hours of volunteering, to contributions of funds – feeding people is more than our job, it is our calling. Last year alone, Kroger delivered the largest contribution of food and funds in our company history – the equivalent of nearly 200 million meals – to Feeding America and its local food banks."
Kroger associates from all over the country will be gathering in Louisville for a leadership summit to discuss the company's growth strategy and Kroger's ongoing commitment to its customers, associates and the communities it serves. The public service event is consistent with the theme of the meeting, in that Kroger associates, both individually and collectively "Make a Difference" in the lives of their customers and their communities.
With a distribution network that includes more than 300 local food pantries, shelters and assistance organizations, Dare to Care Food Bank will be distributing the emergency food and personal care boxes to needy families throughout their 13-county metropolitan Louisville service area.
The 8,500 emergency food boxes will be packed with 14 non-perishable pantry staples, such as peanut butter, pasta, canned fruits and vegetables, tuna fish, granola bars and cereal. According to calculation tables established by the USDA, the boxes will represent approximately 136,000 meals.
Many of the families requiring some type of food assistance are also in need of personal care and household supplies. Kroger will be packing an estimated 8,500 family boxes, containing shampoo, toothpaste, soap, laundry detergent, deodorant and other supplies. The total retail value of these boxes will be more than $212,000.
Kroger partners with Feeding America, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, in its mission to feed the hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks, which includes Louisville's Dare to Care Food Bank.
Cincinnati-based Kroger operates 2,424 supermarkets and multidepartment stores in 31 states under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's.