Ralphs Grocery Company Announces Holiday Hunger Donation Campaign

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ralphs Grocery Company is offering an easy and convenient way to help feed hungry families this holiday season. Through December 31, customers may purchase $1, $3 and $5 Hunger donation cards to benefit their local Feeding America affiliate in Southern California.

The Hunger donation cards are conveniently located near the entrance in all Ralphs stores. Customers simply choose the card(s) they wish to purchase and take them to the register along with the rest of their order.

Feeding America chapters that will benefit from the campaign include:

• Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County
• Second Harvest Food Bank Serving Riverside and San Bernardino Cos.
• Feeding America San Diego
• FIND Food Bank, Indio
• Food Share, Inc., Oxnard
• Food Bank of Santa Barbara County

"Purchasing a donation card can go a long way toward helping families who are living paycheck to paycheck," said Michael Flood, president of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which provides food for nearly 900 member agency sites including abused and abandoned children homes, battered women shelters, senior centers, local food pantries, soup kitchens, AIDS hospices and more. "Even a small donation can help," he said. "We can turn $1 into four meals."

The program is part of Ralphs' "Bringing Hope to the Table" initiative that is working to reduce hunger in communities across Southern California. In addition to the donation card 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 is also currently accepting cash donations for hunger relief in the collection canisters located at the checkstands in its stores.

"Food banks and hunger agencies are facing unprecedented demand. In fact, 1 in 8 Americans struggle from hunger each year and the numbers are growing. Through 'Bringing Hope to the Table,' our customers and associates can drive funds to local food banks to help hungry people who are our neighbors," said Donna Giordano, President of Ralphs Supermarkets.

Ralphs' ongoing commitment to bring as much food as possible to hungry families also includes our 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. More than 1 million pounds of perishable foods has been donated to Southern California food banks this year, representing more than 850,000 meals for hungry families.

About Ralphs

Ralphs Grocery Company was founded in 1873 and currently operates 249 supermarkets from its headquarters in Los Angeles. The company is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., (NYSE: KR), the nation's largest traditional food retailer, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Last year, Ralphs provided more than $6 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