More than 14,600 students recognized for volunteering to serve local communities and fight hunger and waste
The Kroger Company today shared that 14,656 students across America have been named Zero Heroes through the retailer’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste youth engagement program.
Students earned service awards for taking action during the 2023-2024 school year to create communities free from hunger and waste and advance United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 and 12: Zero Hunger and Responsible Consumption and Production.
This year, Zero Hero student award winners completed 107,175 volunteer hours, generating a community impact value of $3.5 million.
“We are inspired and energized by our 2023-2024 class of Zero Heroes. These bright students reflect the spirit of our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste mission, and we are grateful for their dedication and achievements in communities from coast to coast,” said Denise Osterhues, Kroger’s senior director of sustainability and social impact.
“Their commitment to service is a great reminder that we can each make a big difference through everyday actions. By working together to fight hunger and waste, we can make a larger impact in our communities.”
To amplify community service opportunities related to Kroger’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste impact plan, the retailer developed the youth engagement program in 2019 in collaboration with InnerView—a leading platform to empower student volunteers.
InnerView offers paths for students to explore volunteer opportunities, capture service activities, develop skills through impact-driven projects and demonstrate community impact aligned with the Global Goals.
Since the 2019-2020 school year, more than 46,425 youth Zero Heroes completed a total of more than 365,0575 volunteer service hours. Their achievements generated a total community impact value of $10.8 million.
Through the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste youth engagement program, students earn awards and develop a personal community service résumé detailing their hours of service and areas of positive social impact.
Sample activities include volunteer at a soup kitchen, pack meals at a food bank, help with or organize a food drive or start a school food pantry. Students are encouraged to explore the Global Goals and engage in local volunteer efforts that align with their passions.
In 2023, for the second consecutive year, Kroger created a 15-member Youth Advisory Council of committed student leaders across the United States who invested time and talent into pressing issues including hunger, climate, responsible consumption and recycling. Each student participated in Kroger-led collaborative sessions with guest speakers, discussions on Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, and design challenges to create Zero Hunger | Zero Waste-aligned Community Impact projects, supported by a charitable micro-grant from Kroger.
The Zero Hunger | Zero Waste engagement program is offered to all students ages 14 to 24 in the United States.
