Pitch competition winners awarded $74,000 in scholarships
CINCINNATI, Oct. 31,
2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR)
Foundation ("Foundation") today announced the scholarship award
recipients and entrepreneurial pitch competition results from its
second annual Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Innovation Challenge in
collaboration with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). The
Innovation Challenge is made possible by the Build it
Together grant awarded to TMCF from the Foundation's Racial
Equity Fund. The $1 million grant
supports TMCF's effort to adapt its successful innovation and
entrepreneurship model to focus on food insecurity and food
waste.
The Innovation Challenge is a three-day in-person business pitch
competition where students from Historically Black College and
University (HBCUs) 1890 land-grant institutions combine the adapted
Innovation and Entrepreneurship model with support for the winning
team's ideas, leveraging expertise from Kroger and the Kroger
Foundation. Teams work together to design solutions for three
challenges aligning with Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste
mission.
"The talent and innovation from students in this annual pitch
competition continues to amaze us," said Keith Dailey, Kroger's group vice president of
corporate affairs and president of The Kroger Co. Foundation.
"These bright students are the future of the Zero Hunger | Zero
Waste promise, and we are so proud to collaborate with them and the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund to offer scholarships that drive our
commitment to creating more equitable communities that are free of
hunger and waste."
There were 36 students and seven teams participating. All teams
received $15,000 in project
development funds for their institution. Overall, a total of
$74,000 in scholarships were awarded
in addition to tech prizes.
The winners and grant recipients include:
First Place: University of Arkansas-Pine
Bluff and Tuskegee University
tied for first place, with each team member awarded $7,500.
University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Team Members: Perry Williams, Larry
Culclager, L'Kenna Whitehead, Charlese
De-Anna Colen and Jvon
Allen.
Case Study: How can
Kroger encourage, motivate, incentivize, or
reward its customers to reduce household food
waste?
Tuskegee University
Team Members: Olivia Bowles,
Chera Howard, Maxwell Saine, Hali Braynon and Carmen
McMeans.
Case Study: Provide a
sustainable solution that will help eliminate food or operational
waste in Kroger's supply chain.
Second Place: Southern
University with each team member awarded $5,000.
Team Members: Rashard Grace,
Ahlayna Calhoun, Faith
Woods, Nalone Sumo, Frankie Dorsey and Robert Easly
(faculty).
Case Study: What can Kroger
do to encourage healthier choices and be a leader in the Food as
Medicine concept?
Third Place: MetaVerse Scholars with each team
member awarded $2,500.
Team Members: Anita Bozhko, Alabama
A&M University; Samuel
Dixon, North Carolina A&T State
University; Obieze Udemadu, North Carolina
A&T State University; Adeleye
Mesogboriwon, Edward Waters
College; and Mitrick (TJ) Johnson,
Alabama A&M
University.
Alternates: Kashif
Alston, Bluefield State College
and Dailynn Thomas, Southern University A&M
College.
Case Study: What
can Kroger do to encourage healthier choices and be a
leader in the Food as Medicine concept?
Most Outstanding Players: Edwin
Crittendon II, Prairie View A&M University;
Sherman Cravens, Langston
University and Kashif
Alston, Bluefield
State.
Award: $1,000 for each
team member.
"Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Innovation Challenge program
is an important part of preparing our talented students for the
real world by offering them opportunities to make a significant
societal contribution while helping Kroger accomplish its goal,"
said Dr. Harry L. Williams,
President & CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. "In
addition, they are exposed to new technologies in the web 3.0
space. These amazing students work together to solve real-world
challenges. They never cease to impress us with their ingenuity and
initiative. We're proud to once again be part of this program,
amplifying incredible, untapped talent."
In 2021, as part of Kroger's Framework for Action:
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Kroger allocated $5 million to The Kroger Co. Foundation to
establish a new Racial Equity Fund with the vision to create more
equitable communities by being the spark that ignites innovative
solutions. In 2022, the company contributed an additional
$5 million to the Fund to further
advance race equity in America.
To learn more about The Kroger Co. Foundation, visit here.
About Kroger
At
The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated
to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our
family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over
11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping
experience and retail food stores under a variety
of banner names, serving America through food
inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste
communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit
our newsroom and investor
relations site.
About Thurgood Marshall College Fund
Established
in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund
(TMCF) is the nation's largest organization
exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF
member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically
Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black
Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black
colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building
and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic
partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and
higher education space. The organization is also the source of top
employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good
jobs.
TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For
more information about TMCF, visit: www.tmcf.org.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.