CINCINNATI — The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is uplifting #StopFoodWasteDay by celebrating its social impact plan Zero Hunger | Zero Waste—the retailer's commitment to end hunger in the communities it calls home and eliminate waste across the company by 2025.
"Since launching Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste initiative last September, we've taken big steps to advance our plan to end hunger in our communities and eliminate waste across the company by 2025," said Jessica Adelman, Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs. "Through our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue program and charitable giving to end hunger company-wide, we provided 325 million meals in 2017 for food-insecure families across America."
Kroger directed a total of $181 million in food and funds to end hunger in local communities and rescued 91.2 million pounds of safe nutritious food that could no longer be sold from its retail stores, or shipped from its distribution centers and manufacturing plants, for Feeding America® food banks last year alone. Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue program started 10 years ago as its Perishable Donation Partnership.
"Zero Hunger | Zero Waste addresses a fundamental absurdity in our food system: 40 percent of the food produced in the U.S. is thrown away, yet 1 in 8 Americans experiences hunger. As America's grocer, we believe we should – and more importantly – we can do something to create positive change," added Ms. Adelman. "We are intently focused on reducing food waste throughout our operations."
Kroger is working with long-standing partner World Wildlife Fund (WWF), conducting a comprehensive food waste analysis to identify where the company stands today in its journey to zero food waste, and establish a framework for measuring and reporting food waste reduction going forward.
"You can't improve what you don't measure," said Pete Pearson, Director of Food Loss and Waste for WWF. "Many businesses don't understand how much waste they create and its tremendous environmental impact. Kroger's zero waste goal comes at a critical time, and we hope more businesses follow their lead."
Starting today, customers can visit the Kroger Facebook page to engage with the #ZeroHunger video by sharing an idea or photo that expresses ways shoppers can reduce food waste in their everyday lives. For each engagement, Kroger will donate $5 to WWF, up to $100,000.
Kroger recently introduced a blog series featuring easy tips and suggestions from the company's chefs and sustainability leaders, like 10 Ways to Cut Down on Food Waste, to help customers become a part of the solution.
Kroger continues its work with valued partners Feeding America, WWF and ReFED to help the company achieve its vision.
To follow Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste journey, customers can sign up here for updates.
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are nearly half a million associates who serve nine million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
Source: The Kroger Co.
