CINCINNATI, Aug. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Innovation Fund
(the "Fund"), a program of The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
Foundation (the "Foundation"), today named its inaugural cohort of
innovators, selected from nearly 400 applicants who submitted
interest earlier this year during the first-ever open call. The
invitation welcomed innovators to submit ideas and solutions to
prevent food waste for an opportunity to receive a grant, ranging
from $25,000 to $250,000 per project, from the $1 million designated for the first cohort.
"Kroger's bold social impact plan, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste,
sets out to end hunger in our communities and eliminate waste
across the company by 2025. We know we can't accomplish this
ambitious goal alone, so we supported the development of The Kroger
Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation – a public charity
established to work with social enterprises, corporations and
non-profits that are committed to creating communities free of
hunger and waste," said Jessica
Adelman, president of The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero
Waste Foundation. "The Foundation's Innovation Fund was designed to
bring like-minded organizations together as philanthropic
disrupters – setting a new course on how to partner and change the
world. The Foundation's first cohort of innovators were
individually selected due to their big ideas, shared vision and
collaborative spirit in achieving a world with Zero Hunger | Zero
Waste."
The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation board of
directors, with support from the Foundation's advisory council for
the Fund, represented by subject matter experts and thought leaders
from 84.51°, Feeding America, Foundation for Food and Agriculture
Research, Kroger Technology, ReFED,
Seed 2 Growth Ventures and World Wildlife Fund, evaluated the
proposals and identified the top seven opportunities to advance the
Foundation's mission to create Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
communities.
Key criteria included alignment with the Zero Hunger | Zero
Waste mission, potential for positive impact in U.S. communities,
ease of implementation, geography, and measurability and
scalability.
The inaugural cohort features:
- Food Forest (Cincinnati, OH)
Food Forest uses technology to source products
through multiple channels, maximizing fulfillment efficiencies and
minimizing the carbon footprint of delivery logistics. The Food
Forest app uses dynamic pricing and recommendations to offer
incentives to customers and mitigate wasteful behavior. It also
provides pop-up grocery pickup points to low-access, high-need
neighborhoods.
- Imperfect (San
Francisco, CA)
Imperfect is a national online grocer
creating a more sustainable and effective food system to better
communities and the environment. The company sources imperfect
produce and surplus food like grains, nuts, oil, bread, milk and
cheese directly from farmers, growers and food purveyors and
delivers these goods directly to customers' doors through a
customizable subscription service.
- mobius (Knoxville,
TN)
mobius converts industrial organic waste streams
from food, forestry and agriculture into renewable chemicals and
materials as part of its mission to create a world where There's
Wonder in Waste. Its first products are biodegradable plastics
and polymers created from industrial organic waste, with
applications focused in agriculture, horticulture, and food service
packaging.
- Replate (Berkeley,
CA)
Replate creates technology to reliably
redistribute surplus food from businesses and events directly to
nonprofits in need. Leveraging the gig economy, it creates
meaningful jobs while providing a simple platform for businesses
and caterers to reduce their waste while supporting members of
their community.
- Ripe Revival (Greenville, NC)
Ripe Revival is an
innovative food brand on a mission to reduce waste and feed those
in need. Its nutrient-dense protein gummies are crafted utilizing
proprietary extraction technology, providing a profitable solution
for farmers' excess produce. Its products are packed with purpose,
maximizing the potential of fruits and vegetables through
nutritious, clean and fun foods.
- Seal the Seasons (Chapel Hill, NC)
Seal the Seasons'
mission is to increase access to local food by reducing on-farm
food waste and providing family farms with a reliable income stream
by selling locally- and regionally-grown frozen fruits and
vegetables year-round. It partners with local family farms on
a state-by-state basis to source local produce while in season,
freeze it within 24 hours of picking, and sell it to local grocers
in the grower's home region.
- Winnow (Iowa City,
IA)
Winnow builds artificial intelligence tools to
help chefs measure food waste and provide stakeholders with
transparent, measurable, and actionable data, helping run more
profitable and sustainable kitchens. The data communicates food
waste reduction opportunities and details where food is being
lost—whether as a result of customer food preferences, preparation,
storage, or overproduction issues.
The inaugural cohort will use the non-dilutive funding provided
by the Foundation to implement projects over the next 12 months in
cities across America.
"We're excited to see our inaugural cohort work toward
meaningful and measurable solutions to prevent, recover and recycle
food waste, with the possibility of reducing food waste by up to
7.2 million pounds," added Adelman.
The Foundation will host additional open calls with a total seed
funding commitment of $10
million.
To learn more about The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
Foundation, visit here, and to download photos and a packaged video
of the inaugural cohort, visit here.
About The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
Foundation:
The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
Foundation (the "Foundation") is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded
in 2018. The Foundation was formed to support initiatives that
create communities free of hunger and waste.
About Kroger:
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 over 11 million
customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and
2,761 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.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.