Since joining the Kroger Family of Stores in 1999, Fred Meyer has been a pioneering force.

Fred Meyer’s in-store fresh donations program laid the foundation for our company-wide Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Food Rescue. Our food rescue directs safe, wholesome food that can no longer be sold to local food banks to help those in need in our communities. And now, with Fred Meyer’s polystyrene foam recycling program, they are leading the charge for Zero Hunger | Zero Waste by safely disposing of excess polystyrene foam, sometimes called Styrofoam.
 
Fred Meyer has a vast selection of unique home goods and grocery products frequently packed in polystyrene foam. Not only does this packaging take up a lot of space, it has limited recycling options. This material is harmful to the environment because polystyrene foam is not biodegradable and often ends up in our oceans. It also takes a whopping 500 years to decompose!
 
Concerned by this dilemma, the Fred Meyer team found a way to help keep polystyrene foam out of their waste stream. To give the material another life, Fred Meyer partnered with a company called Agilyx. The journey starts in-store where clean polystyrene foam is collected and sent back to a distribution center where it is picked up by Agilyx and sent to their recycling center that converts difficult-to-recycle waste plastics into valuable resources. In this facility, the material is broken down into a liquid and used to create new plastics, asphalt, and fuel. According to Agilyx, they currently receive 5 tons of polystyrene foam a week from Fred Meyer stores – that’s around 200 tons to-date.
 

Fred Meyer is not only passionate about recycling in stores, they’re also passionate about getting their community involved. Fred Meyer partnered together with the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers to host an event to collect and recycle plastic, polystyrene foam, and electronics. At the event, they collected more than 1,100 pounds of packaging materials. The event was the first of its kind and Fred Meyer plans on having more in the future.
 
Fred Meyer also lives out Zero Hunger | Zero Waste in their offices. Recently, 13 stores in the Fred Meyer Division received Gold sustainability certifications from the city of Portland’s Sustainability at Work program for their in-store offices. The certification recognizes workplaces who complete 45 sustainable best practices in various fields including employee engagement, transportation, and energy.
 
Fred Meyer’s commitment to Zero Hunger | Zero Waste is an inspiration to our associates and the communities we call home. Learn more about our journey to Zero Hunger | Zero Waste.