By Mariana Montoya
Kroger Markets has donated $150,000 to The Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges to help with the monetary stress students face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 emergency has seriously impacted the lives of many of our students and their families.They are worried (about how) to make ends meet and having food on their table.We thank Kroger, Food 4 Less and Ralphs for their incredibly generous gift and hope that their visionary and corporate leadership example inspires others who have the capacity to feed needy students and invest in the education of Los Angeles,” said LACCD Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez.
The foundation intends to mail out a $50 shopping card for students who apply to shop in their chain stores of Ralphs and Food 4 Less.
“The generosity shown by Food 4 Less and Ralphs in support of our students had been remarkable, even before this pandemic,” Andra Hoffman, President of the Board of Trustees, said. This donation comes after the last donation of $100,000 made by the Kroger company to the The Foundation for the Los Angeles Community Colleges during the holidays.
“Ending hunger in our communities through food donations and monetary support of hunger relief organizations, is the mainstay of our Zero Hunger Zero Waste social impact plan,” Tom Schwilke, President at Kroger’s Ralphs Division said.
Its last donation helped about 2,000 students, which is what inspired them to step up and make another donation during this current outbreak. William H. Boyer, director of communications and external relations for LACCD, said students will receive their $50 card “As quickly as possible.”
Students interested in getting the card can “apply via the student portal under scholarships icon. If that is not visible, students can look for helpful links on the student portal to see the scholarships link. Once on the portal, students should look for scholarships available through the Foundation and will find food gift cards available,” Boyer said.
“Food insecurity faced by our students has been an increasingly serious issue and the situation has gotten only more precarious with the current crisis,” Hoffman said.
If students can’t access their portal for any reason there is help being offered to them in the way of the Student Help Desk. “The Student Help Desk is available to assist students who need password, login or navigation help on the portal. Students can call toll free number at (844) 695-2223, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m,” Michael Fuller, executive director of the foundation, said.