Written by: Eric Halvorson, Manager of Corporate Affairs & Media Spokesman, Kroger Co.
For some people, Hoosier Hospitality is a slogan. At Habitat for Humanity, it is a calling. The Greater Indy affiliate of Habitat has been building homes and building dreams for thirty years. Hundreds of families have enjoyed the quality of life and stability that comes from homeownership made possible by Habitat.
The Kroger Co. has been part of the Habitat team for nearly half of its Indy existence. We have supported the home builds physically, with volunteers, and financially. So, we have seen the impact Habitat can have – one home, one street, and one neighborhood at a time.
Someone said a warm kitchen and good food are what make a house a home. That’s where Kroger provides one more element of the Habitat for Humanity success story. Kroger feeds the new homeowners. For years, we have stocked the pantries of each new Indianapolis Habitat home. That will continue in 2018. It is a natural extension of our life in the grocery business.
Our food donations are the modern equivalent of a commitment made by our founder, Barney Kroger, in the early 20th Century. During one particularly harsh winter, he donated 300 loaves of bread a week to help the poor. Kroger’s determination to fight food insecurity is even stronger today. Stocking the Habitat pantries is part of our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste campaign. We want to give 3 billion meals by 2025 and end hunger in Kroger communities.
After 135 years in the grocery business, we have learned a few things about food and people. We know that meals matter. Families who enjoy meals together have children who do better in every aspect of their lives. That’s the power of our partnership with Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity. But this is not just a story of the buildings.
We appreciate the homeownership education and the financial literacy programs provided by Habitat. The new owners are given all the preparation possible to make sure, once they have the keys to their homes, they are able to establish a personal foundation that prepares them for a future that might not have been possible otherwise. We are proud to be part of strengthening families and restoring neighborhoods with Greater Indy Habitat for Humanity.
Over our 15-year partnership, Kroger has built homes, communities, and hope through their sponsorship investment, employee engagement, and donated product to each of our first-time homeowners. You can see their next build project in action at the 2018 Indiana State Fair as part of our annual Ag Build!
What are your primary roles at Habitat?
Why do you build homes, communities and hope?
Allyson Smith’s second/third grade class at Cardinal Elementary School in Brownsburg can tell you all about homeownership, and specifically Habitat homeownership. Every other year her students complete a “Home for the Holidays” project to not only learn about mortgages and home construction, but also the importance of helping families who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity for homeownership.
Their class also surpassed their goal and raised more than $400 to support our mission by making gingerbread house ornaments to sell at their holiday programs. Thank you, Ms. Smith’s class, for your commitment to learning and serving your neighbors!
With the support of our community, 85 households achieved the dignity of homeownership or home preservation in 2016. This is the most housing solutions we’ve ever provided in a single year in our 29-year history.
“Habitat fills gaps in a (difficult) time people might have in their life,” Hochstetler said. “We’re not giving away free homes; they are going to people who really have a need at that time.”
