Kroger stores to host fundraiser this Friday to fight hunger on Dolly Parton Day in Ohio

Donations will help fund Dolly’s Imagination Library in Ohio, fight hunger

Hunger In America Feeding Kids A variety of dry foods, powered milk, small blocks of cheese, canned vegetables, dried beans and apples are packed in individual boxes and readied to be distributed as part of the Mississippi SHINE Project, a program affiliated with the Jefferson County Community Health Center in Fayette, Miss., on Friday, March 12, 2021. Over 100 boxes of donated food were distributed within an hour to residents of one of the poorest counties in the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

By Steve Mehaffie, WHIO.com

COLUMBUS — Kroger stores in Ohio will invite customers to round up their checkout totals this Friday, Sept. 25, to benefit local Feeding America food bank partners.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine proclaimed the date as Dolly Parton Day in the state.

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For every dollar raised during the fundraiser on Sept. 25, Kroger will match the contribution with a donation to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio.

The program currently mails a free book every month to more than 432,000 children throughout the state.

The effort coincides with Hunger Action Month, a nationwide awareness campaign organized in September to combat food insecurity and inspire community efforts to end hunger.

Kroger is incorporating the fundraiser as part of its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste program, which aims to eliminate hunger and waste in local communities.

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