Ralphs Grocery Company Brings Hope and Dollars to the Tables of Local Food Banks

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Ralphs Grocery Company invites customers to help support local food banks and families in need through a special fundraising campaign that kicks off November 8.

Customers and Ralphs associates can support food banks in their community through the supermarket chain's nonprofit arm, The Ralphs Fund, by donating their spare change in collection canisters located at the checkstands in their neighborhood Ralphs supermarket. The fundraising campaign will run from November 8, 2010 through January 29, 2011.

Monies collected at the checkstands in Ralphs stores will be donated to food banks and hunger relief organizations in communities across Southern California served by Ralphs stores.

"Now more than ever, food banks and other hunger organizations are stressed and stretched," said Mike Donnelly, President of Ralphs Supermarkets. "People who have never been in need before have been hurt by the difficult economy and they are struggling to meet their families' basic food needs."

The checkstand fundraising program is part of Ralphs' "Bringing Hope to the Table" initiative that is working to reduce hunger in local communities. In addition to the checkstand fundraiser, the "Bringing Hope to the Table" initiative includes an annual cause marketing partnership with Feeding America that generated more than $200,000 for Feeding America-affiliated food banks this year.

Ralphs' ongoing commitment to bring as much food as possible to hungry families also includes our company-wide Perishables Donations Partnership (PDP) program. The program allows fresh, wholesome food such as meat, produce and dairy products to be donated directly from Ralphs stores to local food banks that are able to safely handle perishable foods.

About Ralphs

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 257 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. The company is a division of The Kroger Co., (NYSE: KR), one of the nation's largest food retailers, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Last year, Ralphs provided more than $8 million in cash and in-kind donations to organizations focused on health, education, the fight against hunger, developing our youth, and the environment. For more about Ralphs, please visit our web site at www.ralphs.com.

SOURCE Ralphs Grocery Company