It appears the Chairman and CEO of Kroger, Inc, is Mr. David Dillon
Kroger, Inc.
1014 Vine St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513/762-4000

This might be a better route than contacting Terry.

> He also informed me that Kroger
> (which own’s Ralph’s) has hired
> specific personnel to devise a plan/
> program/way to donate “fresh” food
> to the hungry.

I was not told about any such personnel or plan. I would imagine that if such a plan existed, he would have told me about it.

> they do not throw out the food
> at the end of the day if it can be
> used again.

This is not what I was told. I was told that ALL of the prepared food that is not sold at the end of the day gets composted. My husband was told the same thing by the employee at the store. Other people have commented here that they also were told the same thing.

Maybe I am being a pessimist, but it sounds to me like Terry was just telling you what he thought you wanted to hear to get you off the phone.

I suppose I could look at this another way, convince myself that my post was a success…that, in response to the post, comments and calls, Kroger hired specific personnel to devise a plan/program/way to donate fresh food to the hungry in my neighborhood. I suppose I could also relax now and rest assured that the plan/program/way will not only be devised, but implemented, and that a couple of months from now, when I ask a Ralphs employee, “what do you do with all the copious amounts of prepared food that goes unsold?” they will respond, “we donate it to the L.A. Foodbank!”

However, if Terry tells me he will call Clarissa at the Foodbank and then does not call, then I cannot believe anything he says.

I am encouraged by the majority of the posts here supporting action on Ralphs’ part. I applaud those of you who commented here, forwarded the post, or called Ralphs to question the reasoning behind its refusal to donate the food. My intention here was never to bully Ralphs into anything. Rather, I hoped that instead of Ralphs (through its spokesperson Terry) telling people what it thinks will get them off the phone (and off its back), Ralphs would see this as an opportunity to be a responsible member of this community and at least ~consider~ donating the food. I can think of many ways this might be possible and would have welcomed an informed discussion on the subject even if I ended up convinced that donation simply is not feasible.

I went further and asked if, theoretically, Ralph’s could donate the food that had just hit the sell by date, day of, to food organizations- he said, “yes, theoretically we could and I believe that is what Kroger is working on right now.”

If you’d like to take one step further, contact Kroger at:
513.762.1304 Meghan Glynn Media Relations- she works in part of that personnel department to organize a way to donate fresh food.

They also donate all their non-perishable food items to food banks on a daily basis. But this issue was mainly about the fresh food items.

So, FYI- they are working on a solution, only expired food goes to compost, and theoretically they could (if they could create a productive system- because there are several storage factors and employee issues that need to be addressed) donate food at the end of the sell by date, day.

Good day to you, and All the best.

I am grateful Donald Sterling is going to build a $50 million homeless center in the heart of Skid Row. Though he is a controversial figure, he lived in Boyle Heights as a boy and wants to give back. Besides calling Ralphs to complain, maybe we should give thanks to Mr. Sterling at the same time.

Between all the low-income residents in Los Angeles County who actually suffer from obesity, to the folks described in the research below, the issue of people not being able to fill their stomach to the top may not necessarily be the worst thing imaginable.

> The Associated Press
> Jan. 13, 2006

> Researchers at Washington University in St.
> Louis on Thursday released findings of what
> they called the first-ever human study to
> demonstrate the cardiac benefits of a restricted
> calorie diet. The findings, they said, confirmed
> earlier studies of mice and rats—a very low-
> calorie yet nutritionally balanced diet helps
> the heart age more slowly.

> The study looked at the heart function of
> [Joe] Cordell and 24 other members of an
> organization called the Caloric Restriction
> Society, all ages 41 to 64, and all of whom
> consume 1,400 to 2,000 nutritionally balanced
> calories per day. They were compared to 25
> people who eat a typical Western diet, consuming
> 2,000 to 3,000 daily calories on average.

> The result: Those limiting caloric intake had the
> heart functions of much younger people —
> typically about 15 years younger than their
> ages. Ultrasound exams showed members of
> the group had hearts that appeared more
> elastic than most people their age. Their
> hearts were also able to relax between beats
> in a way similar to hearts in younger people.

> Research on mice and rats indicated that life
> span can be stretched by about 30 percent
> with stringent and consistent caloric restriction,
> researchers said. That research also suggested
> that restricting calories can help prevent cancer.

…I wouldnt not have said anything about this employee but the customer gave her a simple request while Alma was at the register, which was “Hi!” and handed her her pre packaged sandwich. After that this customer must of disapeared into thin air cause thats the treatment she got…as if she didnt exist.

Now as for the way she handled the phone call come on … shes working as a face and voice for the company and atleast needs to realize shes part of the community now (like it or not). Doesnt sound like a smart cookie to me.

End point … Ralph’s is part of the community and our request should be taken into consideration and it just makes sense to provide good food to people who need it no matter how big or small they are.

I guess this company (or location rather) would rather not use good judgement to help out when it can easily be done and get brownie points for their actions.

-V

http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pubID=92
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=2261

Each of these articles details a 2004 study undertaken by my alma mater, UCLA (specifically the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research), which I hope we can agree is a relatively neutral party (they are neither in the pockets of lobbyists nor in an of themselves a homeless advocacy group). Here’s the critical paragraph:

“Compiled with data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey, this study found that more than three-quarters of a million low-income adults in Los Angeles County have a difficult time reliably putting enough food on the table and thus are considered “food insecure.” Among these adults, 214,000 suffer from hunger and another 561,000 live at risk for hunger day to day. Most importantly, the study found that food insecurity and hunger are found in all parts of the county. Food insecurity among low-income adults is most likely to affect African Americans (36.1%) and Latinos (33.2%), while one out of four low-income Asian adults (25.4%) and one out of five Whites (20.9%) are estimated to experience food insecurity.”

So, in LA County alone, we have at a bare minimum over 200,000 people who go hungry regularly. I think it is a small thing to ask that food which is literally thrown away instead be handed off to people who are willing and able to distribute it to those in need. We’re not asking Ralphs to make huge expense outlays here. It would be a simple, inexpensive–and possibly cost-saving–change in current store policy, and it would solidify their status as a good neighbor not just to those of us who can afford to shop there, but to the downtown community as a whole. If nothing else, certainly the good PR that would result is in and of itself worth the marginal supposed cost of food donation rather than disposal.