News release from Kroger:
Kroger Announces Expanded Support of Community Harvest Food Bank
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[li]Building project support of $25,000 per year in 2013 and 2014[/li]
[li]Matching funds up to $12,500 per year in 2013 and 2014[/li]
[li]In addition to more than $500,000 per year in food donations[/li]
[/list]At tonight’s grand opening celebration of Kroger’s second Marketplace store in Fort Wayne at Village of Coventry, spokesman John Elliott announced increased support for Community Harvest Food Bank. Kroger committed $25,000 per year toward the project that is above and beyond historical, annual contributions for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. Kroger also will match customer and associate contributions up to $12,500 per year in 2013 and 2014 as part of the annual “Share Your Feast” food drive. This would bring the total Kroger commitment to $75,000 over two years, plus whatever amount customers and associates choose to donate during the two “Share Your Feast” food drives. Kroger has set a total goal of $100,000 by the end of 2014. The food bank has agreed to use the funds toward some aspect of their building project that would enhance the impact of Kroger’s Perishable Donation Partnership (PDP) on hungry Hoosier families.
Kroger’s contributions are in addition to the more than $500,000 in donated food Kroger provides to Community Harvest every year. In 2011 Kroger’s Central Division stores donated 1,886,074 pounds of healthy, nutritious food to 22 partner organizations through the PDP alone. Community Harvest received more than 200,000 pounds or 156,000 meals from that PDP program, as well as proceeds from multiple food drives and other day-to-day donations from more than 20 partner stores.
Kroger Quote:
John Elliott, Kroger Public Affairs Manager, added, “Kroger’s commitment to supporting the Fort Wayne region includes more than $1 million per year in support for dozens of community organizations. No cause is more important than the work of Community Harvest Food Bank. In fact, they receive almost half our donated resources in the region. Jane Avery and her team have done an exceptional job of serving what is, unfortunately, a growing number of hungry Hoosier families in northeast Indiana. Kroger is pleased to support the food bank as they expand their facilities and operations to meet that growing challenge.”
Community Harvest Quote:
Jane Avery, Executive Director, Community Harvest Food Bank, Fort Wayne, “The Kroger Family of Stores in northeast Indiana are truly engaged with Community Harvest Food Bank of NE Indiana and those we work with and serve and in truly meaningful ways. Their leadership serves on our board of directors; Kroger store manages serve in making our retail donation program a huge success; Kroger associates serve the food bank in encouraging shoppers to support the various food drives throughout the year and several volunteer at the food bank as well. The food donations and financial support are so important in making our mission of feeding hungry people a joint goal and it’s done with such a joyful and genuine spirit of caring for those who are struggling. It may sound cliché, but Community Harvest knows Kroger to be a partner that we can always count on!”
The Kroger Co. has been serving local communities for 129 years. The Kroger Central Division has 138 food stores, 115 pharmacies and 71 fuel centers operating under four banners; Kroger, Scott’s, Owen’s and Pay Less, with locations primarily in Indiana and Illinois, in addition to five stores in Missouri, one in Michigan and one in Ohio. Kroger Central Division is dedicated to supporting every local community it serves, contributing more than $14.7 million in 2011 to local organizations, primarily focusing on hunger relief, K-12 education, health causes and diversity. The Kroger Co. was recently named the most generous company in America in a Chronicle of Philanthropy listing detailed in Forbes Magazine. At Kroger we value: honesty, respect, inclusion, diversity, safety and integrity.
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