The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation (the “Foundation”) today announced the establishment of an Emergency COVID-19 Response Fund to help families disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Through the newly established Fund, Kroger and the Foundation aim to direct $10 million in local, state and national grants to pandemic response efforts.

“We recognize the need in our communities is urgent and increasing every day,” said Keith Dailey, Kroger’s group vice president of corporate affairs. “Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan is our commitment to help create communities free of hunger and waste—and never has this mission been more important. In response to the overwhelming outreach from our partners and customers who want to support our mission, we’re providing new ways to meaningfully give back in stores and online during this unprecedented time.”

To accelerate the Fund’s critical response efforts, Kroger and the Foundation have launched new charitable giving platforms, offering customers easy ways to meaningfully give back to their communities. Starting today, customers can easily and quickly support the Fund in the following ways.

Round Up to End Hunger (Stores and Fuel Center Kiosks): Customers can now round up their purchase to the nearest dollar or commit a donation of their choice ($1, $5 and $10 in value) at check lanes across nearly 2,800 Kroger Family of Stores.

Direct Giving (Online): Customers can direct individual gifts in the amount of their choice to the Fund at ZeroHungerZeroWasteFoundation.org.

The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation has committed more than $6 million to date to nonprofit partners addressing urgent COVID-19 response efforts, including:

$100,000 to the Greater Houston COVID-19 Relief Fund, funding access to food, health care, shelter and more in Harris, Fort Bend, Waller and Montgomery counties.

$25,000 to Interfaith of the Woodlands to help support the fight against hunger in our communities.

$25,000 to Boys and Girls Club to fund drive-through food distribution sites across Houston.

$10,000 to Kids Meals to provide daily meals to food insecure families.

$3 million equally distributed between Feeding America and No Kid Hungry to rapidly deploy hunger-relief resources to food-insecure communities. The funding supports local food banks and initiatives to ensure children have access to meals even if schools are closed.

$250,000 to Meals on Wheels America to support the immediate replenishment of shelf-stable and frozen meals, transportation and personnel costs incurred from the closure of senior center meal sites, telephone assurance and other tech-based programs to check in on isolated seniors and help them easily find local Meals on Wheels resources online, and continued education and public awareness to ensure continued emergency support for seniors.

Additionally, the Kroger Family of Companies will begin accepting SNAP/EBT as a payment form for its Pickup service, providing more customers with access to fresh, affordable food and essentials through ecommerce.

To learn more about The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, visit https://zerohungerzerowastefoundation.org/ and follow the journey at #ZeroHungerZeroWaste.