Kroger’s Atlanta Division is celebrating Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Week to further its goal to establish communities free of hunger and waste.
Throughout the week, Kroger is working internally to celebrate and to educate employees about how each role within the company can make a difference, from courtesy clerks to store leadership.
“Simple, everyday actions can have a big impact,” said Tammie Young-Ennaemba, corporate affairs manager.
“For example, every day, our associates set aside surplus fresh food for local organizations to pick up and redistribute in our communities as a part of our food rescue program. Since launching Zero Hunger | Zero Waste in 2017, Kroger associates have rescued 90 million pounds of food from stores, food processing plants and distribution centers.”
Kroger is inviting customers to join its journey by providing tips such as:
- Bringing reusable bags each time you shop. This will help eliminate single-use plastic shopping bags.
- Throwing away less food and scraps at home. Food and other organic items in landfills take a long time to break down and produce a lot of methane.
- Checking the pantry and making a list before shopping to make sure consumers don’t buy more than they need.
- Donating to local food banks or ringing up a purchase to the next dollar at the register.
Zero Hunger | Zero Waste is Kroger’s social and environmental impact plan to address flaws in the nation’s food system.
Thirty-five percent of food produced in the U.S. is thrown away. This means 229 million tons of surplus available food goes unsold or uneaten every year, in addition to food left unharvested on farms. At the same time, about 42 million Americans – one in eight – struggle with hunger.
“This just doesn’t make sense and we aim to change those numbers,” Young-Ennaemba said.
Kroger’s Atlanta Division consists of 27, 000 employees who serve customers daily throughout the division, which includes Georgia, Eastern Alabama and South Carolina. To learn more, visit its newsroom.
