Kroger is the no.1 earning supermarket chain in the United States. Meanwhile, H-E-B is one of the most beloved and the difference between the two are astounding.
During this pandemic, Kroger has shown that it values profits above all else by refusing to pay its employees “hazard pay” and then shutting down those said stores. Yet, the most recent heartless move the chain became part of was in Portland, Oregon. After a power outage the Fred Meyer store threw thousands of pounds of chilled food in the dumpster.
Those who were hungry descended on the dumpsters to the point where the store needed to call the police. Fred Meyer participates in a program called Zero Hunger, Zero Waste, yet those at the store didn’t think to have the food donated. A spokesperson said “the store lost power and is running on a backup generator. Unfortunately, there was some food that was out of refrigeration during the outage for a protracted period of time and is no longer safe.”
If that were the case why didn’t the store do something to make sure the food went to those who need it? Waiting too long and then throwing the food in dumpsters is a horrible look for the store and Kroger.
Now what happened when a store in Leander, Texas got put in the same situation as that Fred Meyer store? Something completely different. Shoppers were in the store when power was lost. That meant customers were unable to pay for their purchases.
So H-E-B instead of sending those in the store away empty-handed those who were at the store were able to take home their groceries home without having to pay. The kindness then spread to the parking lot with people helping others in the snow and ice.
A gentleman said of what happened at H-E-B is this “you’re our customers. You probably need this stuff. Go ahead and have a nice day.”
What a difference between the two supermarket chains. Kroger refuses to pay its employees for their work during the pandemic and then allows a store to throw away food that needed to get donated to those in need. Hopefully if another situation like that arises the store will do the right thing.
Meanwhile H-E-B and its culture will remain the same and value those in the community.