Ralphs, Food 4 Less Donate 28 Million Meals Through Zero Hunger/Zero Waste Achievements

Ralphs and Food 4 Less shared in the latest milestones of their parent company’s efforts to end hunger in communities where they are located and eliminate landfill waste by 2025.

Throughout the 2020 fiscal year, Ralphs and Food 4 Less, both owned by Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., donated nearly $5 million and 9.8 million pounds of food to hunger relief organizations in California. 

All told, this translates into 28.2 million meals provided to people living in the communities served by these stores. 

“Zero Hunger/Zero Waste is shaping the local discussion around how to end hunger and eliminate waste across the country,” said John Votava, director of corporate affairs for Ralphs, in a prepared statement. 

“Here in California, we’re proud of the work we’ve been about to do through our stores, customers, and associates to use our scale for good,” 

Ralphs and Food 4 Less continue to make progress in Kroger’s journey to achieve Zero Hunger | Zero Waste by 2025. Notable 2020 milestones include:

Zero Hunger

• Ralphs and Food for Less donated 28.2 million meals to communities across the state and the Central Coast in 2020. These meals came from a food rescue program and financial and product donations to hunger relief organizations throughout the year.
• Ralphs and Food 4 Less rescued 9.8 million pounds of safe nutritious food that could no longer be sold in its retail stores or shipped from its distribution centers and manufacturing plants, for Feeding America food banks. This translates to 8.2 million meals that made their way back to the community.

Zero Waste

• Ralphs and Food 4 Less diverted more than 85% of its total waste from landfills across Southern California and the Central Coast.
• Each year, Ralphs and Food 4 Less are in the top five Kroger Divisions for achieving total waste diversion.

“We are driven by our ‘food first’ mission that no matter who you are, where you’re from, how you shop or what you like to eat, everyone deserves to have fresh, affordable and easy-to-enjoy food, said Vanessa Rosales, director of corporate affairs at Food 4 Less. 

“We are dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve, and grateful for the progress we’ve made towards our 2025 goal,” Rosales said.