Kroger Launches New Giving Program

To increase the number of charities that The Kroger Co. assists in Texas and Louisiana, the grocer's new Kroger Community Rewards program invites local schools, nonprofits and faith-based organizations to enroll to benefit from monetary donations four times per year.

"Kroger has longstanding roots in our Texas and Louisiana markets. To us, local means helping the communities we serve prosper," said Bill Breetz, president of the Kroger Southwest Division. "Locally, we serve more than 1.6 million households weekly. I know we have the ability to affect each of those families by providing job opportunities, a rewarding shopping experience, customer service, great food, low prices, and support to the charities they consider important. The Kroger Community Rewards program makes it easy for organizations to raise money and empowers our shoppers to get involved in a philanthropic act."

Any charity interested in signing up for the Kroger Community Rewards program must submit a one-time digital application. After approval, an organization encourages their supporters and clients to link their Kroger Plus Cards to the group's participant number. Once supporters have registered their Kroger Plus Cards to a participating organization, each time they shop at Kroger, a portion of their purchase benefits their charity of choice.

For the 2013-2014 period, more than 1,000 organizations are already enrolled. New applications are being processed and approved daily. Current enrolled charities represent a variety of categories including churches; youth development programs; hunger-relief missions; community development; foundations; sports; environmental protection; arts societies; special needs services; health and wellness; animal care; senior citizens; booster clubs; and PTAs and PTOs.

Over the past five years, Kroger awarded $5 million to thousands of Texas and Louisiana organizations through its previous Neighbor-to-Neighbor program.

The Houston-based Kroger Southwest Division operates 211 stores, 202 pharmacies and 113 fuel centers in Texas and Louisiana and is part of one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains, based in Cincinnati, serving customers in 31 states.