Kroger, Hormel Feed Needy

CINCINNATI -- There?s no plate like ham for the holidays.

In a $137,000 effort that is expected to feed more than 132,000 people in the U.S. this Christmas, Austin, Minn.-based Hormel Foods has teamed up with Cincinnati-based Kroger Corp. to donate gift certificates for more than 11,000 Hormel hams to nonprofit organizations nationwide.

"This promotion is a wonderful opportunity for Kroger and Hormel Foods to give something back to the communities which we serve," said Derrick Penick, Kroger group vice president of perishables merchandising and procurement.

Kroger operates 800 convenience stores under brands such as Kwik Shop and Loaf 'N Jug, and more than 2,000 supermarkets.

The size of the "Hormel Hams for the Holidays" hunger relief campaign, now in its 12th year, is based on the volume of qualifying Hormel Foods products purchased by shoppers at Kroger owned supermarkets and convenience stores from October through mid-December.

The program has fed nearly 16 million people since its 1989 inception.