Kroger gift means 245,000 meals for hungry
By Joel Davis | (joeld@thedailytimes.com)
Kroger donated 4,650 cases of nonperishable food, four tractor-trailer trucks of it, to the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee on Wednesday.
The donation came after Knoxville-area customers and associates donated more than $80,000 for the grocer’s 2012 “Can Hunger” campaign.
“Each year, every Kroger store across the Southeast participates in our hunger-relief campaign, Can Hunger,” said Glynn Jenkins, director of communication and public relations for Kroger’s Atlanta Division. “Through Can Hunger — and donations made by customers and associates — Kroger is able to provide food and product to the communities we serve.
“Donations made in Knoxville and its surrounding areas will directly benefit the Knoxville community, which is one reason why our local associates helped raise more than $80,000 to benefit Can Hunger and the Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee.”
The donation will allow the agency to provide 245,000 meals to the hungry, said Elaine Streno, executive director of Maryville-based Second Harvest. “We’re extremely grateful to the customers and associates of Kroger because they are the ones who made it happen.”
From Nov. 18 to Dec. 24, 2012, Kroger customers and associates purchased $1, $3 and $5 icons to benefit Second Harvest and other Feeding America food banks.
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee distributes more than 16 million pounds of food through its network of more than 500 partner organizations. The food bank serves 18 counties in East Tennessee, delivering food as far west as Crossville and as far east as Newport.
Kroger’s nonperishable donation will include: spaghetti, spaghetti sauce, mac and cheese dinners, corn flakes, canned tuna, green beans and fruit cocktail.
