Kroger partners with MUST Ministries to create two new school pantries
Marietta-based MUST Ministries recently celebrated a generous contribution made by Kroger and several of its vendor partners to open two new Neighborhood Pantries in Atlanta.
MUST’s Neighborhood Pantry program currently has 18 pantries embedded in Title 1 schools, helping students from across 70 schools who are in need of food. Each student receives a monthly distribution of food for his or her entire family, filled with fresh meats, produce and shelf-stable items.
Kroger and its vendors donated $217,000 toward opening the two new pantries, which will be embedded at Hank Aaron High School and South Fulton High School. In total, the pantries will serve 300 students each month.
The donation is made through Kroger’s Zero Hunger I Zero Waste initiative, and a check presentation was recently held with executives from Kroger, its vendor partners, MUST Ministries and the Atlanta-based nonprofit Caring For Others, which was also a beneficiary. The event was held at the Terrell Mill Kroger in Marietta.
“No child should ever go hungry, so this donation will ensure that many more children will not only be fed at school, but they and their families will be fed at home as well,” said MUST President & CEO Dr. Ike Reighard. “For many children, the only meals they eat are the ones they receive at school. A local principal told me once that she had a student who said she was hungry because it was not her turn to eat at dinner the night before. It’s heartbreaking, it’s real, but this is a real solution. We are deeply grateful to Kroger and their vendor partners for helping us expand this much-needed program.”
Vendors who made financial contributions to MUST for the Neighborhood Pantry expansion include Blue Bell Creameries, Bogle Wines, Coca Cola Bottling Company United, Constellation Wines, Delicato Family Wines, Primo Brands – Saratoga Water, Red Bull, Republic National Distributing Co., Trinchero Wines, Wagner Family Wines and The Wine Group.
First published on mustministries.org
