“Kroger was willing to support us before COVID hit,” said Meryl Kennedy Farr, president of Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC, “and we were able to return the favor during the crisis.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the United States, Americans were forced to adjust to a new way of living. Stay at Home orders shut down restaurants in most states, and many were impacted economically by job loss or furlough. As a result, low-cost, shelf-stable foods like rice and canned goods, flew off the shelves at grocery stores across the country, making it increasingly difficult for suppliers to keep their products sufficiently in stock and for grocers to provide customers with the food they needed.

More than 30 years ago, Kroger established a corporate-wide supplier diversity program with a goal to foster the promotion, growth and development of minority, women and other diverse-owned enterprises. As the pandemic created difficulties in the supply chain, our Supplier Inclusion team, including LeShaun Smedley, Supplier Inclusion manager, and Jinjing Zhao, category manager, worked closely with vendors, both new and established, in the Supplier Diversity Program to fill the gaps and keep product on the shelf. By accelerating the process, our team was able to uplift existing partners, as well as bring on a total of eight new suppliers, getting them onboarded, certified and ready to go in record time.

Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC, a rice supplier located in Louisiana, was one of our established vendors that rose to the challenge.

“Kroger was willing to support us before COVID hit,” said Meryl Kennedy Farr, president of Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC, “and we were able to return the favor during the crisis.”

Meryl’s business was in the middle of a brand change when the pandemic arrived, moving from bulk manufacturing and into the retail space. Having just expanded to offer a new product, 2 lb. long grain rice, Meryl knew her company could help ease strain on our rice supply.

Meryl and her team worked closely with Leshaun and JinJing, to get the new product on shelves quickly. With a helpful push from Jinjing, the process that normally takes a year to get the product to consumers was completed within a month.

“It’s been an adventure for all of us that allowed us to do some amazing things, and we wouldn’t have been able to without Jinjing pushing us,” said Meryl.

Before the pandemic, Kennedy Rice had permanent distribution in about 1,000 stores, but with help from our Kroger team, they’ve expanded into 1,200-1,500 stores with the 2 lb. product in several regions.

“It’s really been a pleasure to work with Kroger,” says Meryl. “Being given that first opportunity was a huge deal, and this experience has given us a whole new trajectory.”