Kroger Celebrates Black Heritage Month

CINCINNATI, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is inviting customers to celebrate Black Heritage Month. During the month-long event, customers can visit the program's website to read inspirational supplier stories, download digital coupons and find African-American-influenced recipes, including black-eyed pea, cucumber and tomato salad, and barbecued pork chops with roasted sweet potatoes and kale.

"Kroger has a longstanding and award-winning history of having an inclusive supplier community and culture that reflects the diversity of our 453,000 associates and the nine million customers we serve every day," said Angel Colón, Kroger's senior director of diversity. "Black Heritage Month allows Kroger to celebrate and share a cultural moment with our diverse suppliers, customers and workforce."

Suppliers highlighted during this year's program represent the grocery and wine categories.

Black Heritage Month is observed annually in February. It is a time to celebrate and recognize the history, culture and contributions of African-Americans.

Diversity and inclusion are key parts of Kroger's core values. As the company continues to expand, it is committed to ensuring that the diversity of America's population is reflected in its business operations and associate talent. Kroger has an African-American associate resource group and is a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable. Kroger was named one of the top eight U.S. corporations for inclusion by OMINKAL in 2017. The company has also been recognized by Black Enterprise magazine for its diversity and inclusion programs.

Kroger recently announced Monica Garnes, president of the company's Fry's division, as its first African-American leader for an operating market. Fry's is headquartered in Tolleson, Arizona, and the company operates 123 stores and employs more than 22,000 associates.

"My 23-year career with Kroger has shaped me to become a leader in our business and across the industry," said Ms. Garnes. "I have always been passionate about leading change and innovation while remaining committed to mentoring and influencing the next generation of retail leaders."

At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit^TM. We are 453,000 associates who serve nearly nine million customers every day in 2,793 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering – a personalized order online service – in addition to 2,258 pharmacies, 783 convenience stores, 307 fine jewelry stores, 222 retail health clinics, 1,472 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America's most generous companies for our support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity, we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable. 

SOURCE The Kroger Co.