CINCINNATI, Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- One year ago
today, The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) announced the launch of Zero
Hunger | Zero Waste, the company's bold social impact plan aimed at
ending hunger in the communities it calls home and eliminating
waste across the company by 2025.
"It's amazing how much our incredibly dedicated Kroger team has
been able to accomplish in our first year of Zero Hunger | Zero
Waste," said Jessica Adelman,
Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs. "We've made
great strides toward Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste goal of
ending hunger in our communities and eliminating waste across the
company by 2025. Plus, we've spent much of our first year gathering
insights, building awareness and, together with our partners,
setting strategic priorities for achieving the moonshot by
2025."
Zero Hunger | Zero Waste is designed to address a fundamental
absurdity in the nation's food system: 40 percent of the food
produced in the U.S. is thrown away, yet one in eight Americans
struggles with hunger.
Key Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Accomplishments in Year
One:
- Named #6 on Fortune magazine's Change the
World 2018 list. Kroger was recognized as one of the
50-plus large companies around the world using its resources to
solve society's most complex issues, citing Zero Hunger | Zero
Waste as the rationale for the top-10 ranking.
- Provided 325 million meals to families in need in Kroger
communities in 2017. Improved the company's food rescue program
to not only donate more food, but more balanced meals.
- Directed $181 million in
charitable giving to end hunger. Aligned The Kroger Co.
Foundation's philanthropic giving to the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
plan and added new opportunities for customers to donate and the
support social impact plan.
- First major retailer to commit to phasing out single-use
plastic grocery bags. Work is underway to transition to more
sustainable options to better protect the planet.
- Partnered with Oprah Winfrey
to donate one million meals to Feeding America®. Together with
Winfrey's food line O, That's Good!, Kroger pledged an
additional one million meals to Feeding America to help feed
families across the country.
- Created a strategic plan to launch Kroger's
$10 Million Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
Innovation Fund to fund scalable solutions to reduce waste.
- Increased food waste transparency. Worked with World
Wildlife Fund to establish metrics and a baseline for food waste
across its retail store operations, using the WRI Food Loss &
Waste Standard. Featured results in Kroger's 2018 sustainability
report.
- Developed data-driven insights to better understand the
complex issue of food insecurity in communities. Partnered with
84.51° to initiate a design project to bring a family-centered
focus to Kroger's search for solutions to end hunger.
- Educated customers on ways to reduce food waste at home.
Shared tips for reducing household food waste through the Wilted to
Wonderful blog series and other content.
"As year two of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste begins, Kroger will
launch pilot projects with the potential to increase food security
and reduce food waste in high-impact areas of our stores such as
produce, seafood and deli," added Adelman. "Key initiatives will
include accelerating Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue
Program, expanding the number of retail stores participating in
food recycling, partnering with growers and suppliers to address
food waste in the supply chain, and launching the $10 Million Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Innovation
Fund."
To learn more about Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, visit
www.thekrogerco.com. Follow the journey at
#ZeroHungerZeroWaste.
About The Kroger Co.
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
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.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.