The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation Launches Emergency COVID-19 Response Fund

The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation announced the establishment of an Emergency COVID-19 Response Fund to help families disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Through the newly established Fund, Kroger and the foundation aim to direct $10 million in local, state and national grants to pandemic response efforts.

“We recognize the need in our communities is urgent and increasing every day,” said Keith Dailey, Kroger’s group vice president of corporate affairs. “Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan is our commitment to help create communities free of hunger and waste—and never has this mission been more important. In response to the overwhelming outreach from our partners and customers who want to support our mission, we’re providing new ways to meaningfully give back in stores and online during this unprecedented time.”

To accelerate the Fund’s critical response efforts, Kroger and the foundation have launched new charitable giving platforms, offering customers easy ways to meaningfully give back to their communities. Starting today, customers can easily and quickly support the Fund in the following ways.

• Round Up to End Hunger (Stores and Fuel Center Kiosks):Customers can now round up their purchase to the nearest dollar or commit a donation of their choice ($1, $5 and $10 in value) at check lanes across nearly 2,800 Kroger Family of Stores.
• Direct Giving (Online):Customers can direct individual gifts in the amount of their choice to the Fund at ZeroHungerZeroWasteFoundation.org.

The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has committed more than $6 million to date to nonprofit partners addressing urgent COVID-19 response efforts, including:

• $3 million equally distributed between Feeding America and No Kid Hungryto rapidly deploy hunger-relief resources to food-insecure communities. The funding supports local food banks and initiatives to ensure children have access to meals even if schools are closed.
• $250,000 to Meals on Wheels America to support the immediate replenishment of shelf-stable and frozen meals, transportation and personnel costs incurred from the closure of senior center meal sites, telephone assurance and other tech-based programs to check in on isolated seniors and help them easily find local Meals on Wheels resources online and continued education and public awareness to ensure continued emergency support for seniors.
• $250,000 to the Greater Cincinnati Foundation’s COVID-19 Regional Response Fund to help local agencies working with individuals and families.
• $200,000 to the Sunshine Division Emergency Food Box Program to increase their capacity to deliver meals to families affected by the coronavirus outbreak in Portland.
• $50,000 to help Benefits Data Trust (BDT) continue to remove barriers to benefits access through policy and practice change, data and technology and direct service. BDT seeks to serve low-income families facing food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has also accelerated funding to several social enterprises in its Innovation Fund portfolio, totaling nearly $400,000.

Visit the company’s website for more information.