Kroger Celebrates Earth Month

Grocer gives back and invites customers to join efforts to protect wildlife

CINCINNATI, April 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America's grocer, today announced it is celebrating Earth Day the entire month of April with its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation making contributions to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Arbor Day Foundation.

"At Kroger, we support healthy, thriving communities during Earth Month and every day through our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste impact plan," said Keith Dailey, Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer. "We are proud to join forces with WWF and the Arbor Day Foundation to celebrate Earth Month with our communities and advance our shared mission to protect our planet for generations to come."

From now through April 30, customers can join the celebration by rounding up their purchases to the nearest dollar amount at checkout to benefit WWF, with the Kroger Co.'s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation matching customer donations up to $50,000. One hundred percent of all donations made during the month of April will go directly to WWF, the world's leading conservation organization, working in 100 countries and supported by five million members worldwide. Funds will benefit WWF's conservation and sustainability efforts in our communities, across the country and around the world.

The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is also supporting efforts to increase tree canopies in communities impacted by extreme weather, including Shreveport, Louisiana and Bowling Green, Kentucky with a $50,000 contribution to the Arbor Day Foundation. The donation will support the distribution of hundreds of trees in each community. Expanding the tree canopy in these areas will help combat impacts from natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding.

Kroger is committed to supporting healthy, thriving communities through the grocer's signature Zero Hunger | Zero Waste impact plan that emphasizes the unique role Kroger plays across the food system as an employer, food processor, retailer, healthcare provider and more. In the first five years of the impact plan, Kroger and its associates have achieved:

• $1.65 billion in giving to hunger relief, which includes 500 million pounds of surplus food donated, for a total of 2.3 billion meals directed to communities
• $54.6 million in grants from the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation
• $5.2 million in Innovation Fund grants for social entrepreneurs through the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation's signature program

To learn more about Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste progress and download its 2022 ESG report, visit here.

The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste 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, across our family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and 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.

About the World Wildlife Fund

WWF is one of the world's leading conservation organizations, working in nearly 100 countries for over half a century to help people and nature thrive. With the support of more than 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment and combat the climate crisis. Visit http://www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters and valued partners. Since 1972, almost 500 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival. 

As one of the world's largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org.

SOURCE The Kroger Co.