Breadth of Kroger’s activities underscore seriousness of its Zero Hunger|Zero Waste initiative

Few CSR efforts are as well aligned as that of Kroger Co.—one of the nation’s largest grocery store chains—and its goal of eliminating food waste. In the United States alone, more than 40 percent of food produced is thrown away each year. Kroger’s efforts to reverse that trend have earned it first place in the “Cause Advocacy Campaign” category of PR Daily’s 2018 Corporate Social responsibility Awards.

Kroger is not merely paying lip service to the issue with its Zero Hunger| Zero Waste effort, which seeks to end hunger in the communities where it operates and eliminate waste across the organization by 2025. To achieve these lofty and ambitious goals, the company has established a $10-million innovation fund within its foundation to address hunger and food waste (and the connection between them). 

The company—which has long donated meals to the needy—will accelerate food donations to provide 3 billion meals by 2025 while advocating for public policy solutions to address hunger and reduce food waste within communities. Notably, Kroger will seek to eliminate food waste by 2025 through prevention, donation and diversion across its operations. 

Kroger has established partnerships with Feeding America and the World Wildlife Fund to identify opportunities and use data. The initiative was launched internally and externally at the same time, resulting in high levels of employee awareness along with considerable news coverage. 

The company’s executives have taken on visible activities to promote the cause both internally and externally, from blogging on the intranet to speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A social media strategy is further amplifying the initiative and building support for the initiative.

Congratulations to Kroger’s Jessica Adelman, Keith Dailey, Denise Osterhues and Kristal Howard.