Sponsored story by Mid-Ohio Food Collective
When people think about food, usually the aisles of their local grocery store come to mind. Almost every American – 97% of adults – shops in a grocery store at least once a month. According to a 2022 national study, having a grocery store in a community means healthier diets and lower rates of obesity for residents nearby.
As America’s grocer, Kroger understands the value of the local supermarket in people’s lives and the importance of access to fresh, healthy food. That’s why they are once again teaming up with Mid-Ohio Food Collective (MOFC) this spring to help stock the shelves of hundreds of local food pantries for Operation Feed, a fundraising drive to fight hunger.
Kroger shoppers in central Ohio can round up at the register to help hungry neighbors. In addition, MOFC is accepting cash donations big and small at www.mofc.org/opfeed to support its network of nearly 680 hunger relief partners.
When MOFC opened its doors in 1980 as the Operation Feed Foodbank, it had a small team with a big desire to help. Kroger was the first major donor of food to the foodbank’s efforts and is excited to continue that partnership today.
Our partners at Kroger know big things can come from humble beginnings. While the company now has nearly 2,800 stores, it began with one Ohio entrepreneur 140 years ago. Barney Kroger used his life savings of $372 to open the first Kroger grocery store at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati in 1883. Since then, the company has grown into one of the largest food manufacturing businesses in the U.S. and one of the largest retailers in the world.
Their growth has been fueled by a commitment to freshness, low prices and out-of-the-box thinking. In 1901, Kroger became the first American grocery store to start its own bakeries. It was also a leader in bringing meat departments into stores. The company was an early adopter of making and selling house-branded items and the first to scientifically test products in its stores.
Teaming up with MOFC for re-imagined food drives like Operation Feed is just one of the many ways Kroger’s innovative spirit has taken shape.
All donations to Operation Feed will go to feeding Ohio neighbors facing hunger. Between July 2021 and June 2022, Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks distributed more than 242 million pounds of groceries to Ohio households over the course of more than 3.5 million customer visits to local pantries. In the 20 counties served by the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, about one in five people (and about one out of every four kids) is food insecure, which means they are unsure of where their next meal will come from.
Tackling the causes behind hunger will take all of us, and Kroger is pitching in. As of 2022, as part of the company’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan, the grocery store chain has donated more than 2.3 billion meals across the nation. All Kroger stores take part in food rescue programs to ensure food is not wasted. The chain has donated 500 million pounds of surplus food so far.
What can everyday people do to help?
Join us by supporting Operation Feed online and in the checkout line!
MOFC and Kroger encourage neighbors to visit www.mofc.org/OpFeed and set up a donation page for their friends, family, class or workplace. Donate, share the link and inspire others to do the same.
Kroger shoppers can also round up at the register during visits to the grocery store. Every dollar makes a big impact. A $1 donation to MOFC during Operation Feed can be used to distribute up to $4.89 worth of groceries.
Together, one donation at a time, our community can help provide enough food for 170,000 meals per day to neighborhood food pantries, soup kitchens, after school groups and senior feeding programs.
We believe that as one of the largest neighborhood grocery retailers in America, Kroger has a unique role in building a food system that is accessible, affordable and sustainable. We hope you’ll join us and long-standing partners like Kroger to support collective action that supports our communities and improves the health of millions of Americans.
