TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Background .............................................................................................................................................. 5
Proposal ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Plan ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
Staffing .................................................................................................................................................... 11
Budget ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
Authorization Request ...................................................................................................................... 13
References ............................................................................................................................................. 14



PREPARED BY TEAM T

Tung Do
Parash Gyawali
Leng Houth
Thu Pham


Kroger Fights Hunger | 2
INTRODUCTION

In society we face a world filled with global conflict, education costs, job losses, and the
increasing rate of poverty in America. We know homelessness and hunger are increasing
fast and its striking Americans of every age, religion, and ethnicity (Homelessness In
America, 2014). One in seven people were at risk at suffering from hunger in the United
States in 2013. More than 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges,
in shelters or in cars (Homelessness In America, 2014).




The high cost of living, low-wage jobs, and rising unemployment rates is just making
everything worse for people in the United States. Studies show that food is typically the
first thing to sacrifice to save money (Homelessness In America, 2014). There are not many
things people can do because of their low paying jobs. They cant afford to pay for rent,
utility bills, or buy food. In 2002, the National Alliance to End Homelessness and The
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness encouraged all communities to create
and accept a plan to end homelessness. Up to date, there are over 355 plans created by 860
communities across the country, including one in Texas (Corporation for Supportive
Housing, 2010). As a community we can create a plan and adopt it to end homelessness in
North Texas.

The proposed Kroger Tackle Hunger aims to tackle hunger by feeding the homeless people
in the North Texas community. We are going to work closely with full-time employees of
the Kroger Co. to help us raise money by selling the hunger bags in our stores to help tackle
hunger. Customers who shop at Kroger around the North Texas area can also help by
32%
23%
27%
18%
Figure 1. Homeless People in America
Families with Children
Children under the age of 18
years
People who have experienced
domestic violence
People who have suffered from
mental illness
Kroger Fights Hunger | 3
taking advantage of donations by purchasing a hunger bag while they shop. We picked
Kroger because we have a history of feeding the hungry for decades. Since the Great
Depression, the employees of Kroger has partnered with local food banks, Feeding America
and with other organizations to fight hunger in our communities (Kroger Co., n.d.).


































Kroger Fights Hunger | 4
BACKGROUND

The shelters are full, transitional housing is very limited, and so is permanent housing that
is affordable on local transportation routes. (Honing in on homelessness, 2001).

In 2007, according to the U.S Conference of Mayors, homeless people were short of shelters
and faced with hunger (Homelessness, 2007). Homelessness is not defined in terms of a
single male living down the street. Unfortunately, anyone can be homeless, if they are not
able to access to habitable place. One third of the homeless population is made up of
families normally led by single parents, and the most vulnerable segment of homeless
having with young children. They are easily interrupted with the shelters environment and
not access to nutritional food, which often lead to health issues, such as respiratory and
intestinal infections and psychological trauma (Wehler. C, 2004). Due to lack of resources,
86 percent of families were turned away from shelters. (Honing in on homelessness, 2001).

As this condition exists, we may encounter more people sleeping in the cars, under bridges
or in wooded areas. Local authorities have issued ordinances that prevent homeless people
from begging, lying down, sitting or loitering (Homelessness, 2007). Nevertheless, the
homeless population has increased so rapidly that local governments cannot control the
situation. In 2006, Las Vegas passed an additional ordinance that barred people from
sharing food with destitute and homeless people. If people violate this law, it will be
considered a crime, and the person will be punished up to six months in prison
(Homelessness, 2007). We believe there should not be an ordinance that prevents people
from helping homeless people in Dallas County. We need to support and assist them in
order to reduce the homeless population in the area. We also need to make sure people
have enough food to survive.

A survey suggested that homelessness is not primarily caused by from the shortage of
affordable housing, but lack of the therapeutic treatment and supportive services.
Collectively the main cause of homelessness is mental illness. An advocacy group in
Baltimore reported that they may refer as many people as possible to local mental
institutions and get accepted, but these people will only get the prescription for medication
and be asked to leave their office (Honing in on homelessness, 2001).

On the other hand, substance abuse and lack of work are also the major causes of
homelessness. Most people who live in shelters are employed; however, the salaries are not
high enough to cover rent, or maybe there is only a small part of the salaries are left for
necessities. People do not have enough money to support themselves because living
expense, food and other necessities are out of their reach (Richards, R., & Smith, C. 2006).
Kroger Fights Hunger | 5

A number of high school students chose to pay attention to this social issue. Students want
to experience homelessness and understand the dilemma of homeless people. Students
hoped to gain insights about the needs of the homeless so that they can try to help them to
improve their situation.

Upper classmates at Kings High in Deerfield Township, Ohio, created a shack settlement for
their field trip last spring. Most lower classmates also applied for these opportunities.
However, in order to qualify for the trip, these students had to write a short essay
explaining why they want to take part, raise $30 or more to donate to local food banks, and
get two recommendation letters from their teachers. Some 30 students were admitted for
the trip (Honing in on homelessness, 2001).

Shelters were made up from cardboard and duct tape, which could not hold up and
collapsed. Students found that creating a shelter was rougher than they expected. The
weather was abnormal at the time, relatively warm and dry. If students wanted to have
lunch, they had to beg for certain amounts of money in order to purchase meals. For dinner,
they got some salad and soup left from Olive Garden. Students also had to beg and dig in the
dumpster in order to have some food to eat. They earned money primarily by gathering
bottles and cans. One evening, students invited two homeless people for dinner. Homeless
people were so happy with the offer. They shared their food and talked about their
condition of homelessness. Students got to know more about the homeless situation. A
couple days later, they decided to take a bath in a nearby river where homeless people
always went. By doing so, they were looked at and laughed at for being so destitute.

These students tried to put their feet in homeless peoples shoes; they did not want to
humiliate themselves. Many students who experienced this situation at the camp felt that
they had learned a lot about today society. Students felt terrible about the condition of
homeless people and pity toward people who had been picked on and beat up. Students
wanted to contribute more by raising money to help people who are desperate with their
every day life.

Kroger.co has 25 locations around Dallas area, and people come from many different
backgrounds to shop here because they know Kroger are not just selling grocery, but it is
an institution to support homeless people to tackle their hunger. As we know that national
shelter for homeless people are insufficient to meet demand, fund is needed to add to the
local Food Bank. In order to assist homeless people more effectively, Kroger should take
part on this project.


Kroger Fights Hunger | 6


PROPOSAL

As a candidate to represent our company, Kroger, in the Dallas Chamber of Commerce
competition, Businesses Give Back, our team wants to create a plan that addresses an
important need in the Dallas area. We, employees of Kroger, understand that it is essential
for our company to participate in such a competition as it shows that we care about what is
happening to our community, and we care to give back to the community to help it become
a better place. Aware of the homelessness situation in Dallas, our team proposes a project
to help the homeless defeat hunger.

Our project consists of three phases. The first one is the marketing phase during which we
prepare a marketing plan to make the public aware of our coming campaign. The second
one is our campaign period during which we raise fund by selling pre-packaged food bags.
To be specific, we will sell pre-packaged food bags to customers, and the profit will go to
our last phase. The last phase is our Food Establishments phase during which we spend
the profit from the second phase on food to distribute to the homeless. By going through
both the second phase and the third phase, we will not have to spend just our own money,
which is a fairly limited source, but we can also encourage our customers to support our
charitable act so that we have more fund to reach out to a bigger homeless population.

PROJECT TIMETABLE:

FROM TO
PHASE I: MARKETING CAMPAIGN June 20, 2014 August 8, 2014
PHASE II: FUND RAISING PERIOD July 1, 2014 July 31, 2014
PHASE III: FOOD ESTABLISHMENT EVENT August 4, 2014 August 8, 2014









Kroger Fights Hunger | 7

PLAN

PHASE I: MARKETING PLAN

During this phase we will prepare a marketing plan to make our upcoming campaign reach
out to customers. We will make use of the 4P Marketing Mix (Product, Price, Place,
Promotion) to create our marketing plan, which will be deployed from late June to early
August of 2014.

PRODUCT:

Kroger will reach out to customers to raise goodwill and promote their new food sub-brand
Kroger Fights Hunger. Kroger Fights Hunger is a food bag brand of Kroger, which is
available throughout July in order to help Kroger raise fund for the homeless. The theme of
the food bags will be based on Independence Day. Bags will be magnificently decorated,
and there will be a wide range of choices to attract customers.

PRICE:

There will be many types of food bags considering the fact that there is a variety of food
available to choose from. Therefore, they will be priced according to what is inside, but the
price range will be kept reasonable. To illustrate, the food bags will cost Kroger around $6,
and they will be priced around $9. Customers will be informed that, for every food bag they
purchase, $3 will be given to the homeless to help fight hunger.

PLACE AND PROMOTION:

Place factor and promotion factor will be decided by where and how the marketing plan
will be deployed. There will be a marketing team in charge of the promotion strategy for all
marketing channels. Basically, there are three places that we want to deploy our marketing
plan, and included with those places will be their particular promotion strategy:
o Internet will be an essential channel of marketing. In todays world, the Internet
plays an extremely important role in connecting people. Young people nowadays
spend most of their time on the Internet. Therefore, the primary target audience of
this channel is teenagers and young adults. The promotion strategy for this channel
would be to post advertisement videos on YouTube and place advertisement
banners on websites of Kroger and partners. In addition, advertising on social media
sites is an opportunity that cannot be ignored. Kroger marketing team will actively
Kroger Fights Hunger | 8
manage social media accounts of Kroger, which includes Facebook, Twitter, and
Pinterest. On Facebook, there will be regular posts and photos, while on Twitter,
there will be waves of daily posts with hash tag #KrogerFightsHunger. Likewise,
there will be a board pinned with photos of the campaign on Pinterest.
o Commercial broadcasting has been the most popular marketing channel. A
marketing plan will not be complete without advertisement on radio and television.
Unlike teenagers and young adults, kids and seniors spend most of their time
watching TV and listening to radio, hence make themselves the perfect target for
this marketing channel. The promotion strategy of this channel would be to include
loads of fun and relaxing music, which makes the ad more memorable to its age-
sensitive audience.
o In store advertisement is the last marketing channel, and its target audience will be
the whole population of Kroger shoppers.

PHASE II: FUND RAISING PERIOD

As customers already become informed of our campaign through our advertisements on
multiple channels by the end of June, our campaign can kick start from the beginning of
July. Cashier team and food team will rotate preparing food bags and help customers check
out throughout the day.

PHASE III: FOOD ESTABLISHMENT EVENT

As the second phase ends, we, Kroger, should have collected and accounted an amount of
profit. We will begin to host our food establishment event with the help of volunteers from
Feeding America, which is an organization devotes in helping people fight hunger. The
event will be hosted following the Dallas City Code. The Dallas City Code states that an
organization can serve or distribute food, without charge, to the homeless individuals on
public or private property, provided that:
o The organization was conducting that activity at a location approved by the city
government. To satisfy this criterion, this proposal will be submitted to request for
approval from the city government once it is approved by Krogers management
team.
o The organization had written consent from the property owner to conduct that
activity on the property. To satisfy this criterion, request for space will be sent to
property manager once the project is approved. The event is expected be hosted at
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Dallas.
o The organization conducted the activity in accordance with all terms and conditions
of the registration as required by the city government, and the organization had met
Kroger Fights Hunger | 9
annual training requirements for safe food handling. To satisfy this criterion, staffs
that are scheduled to be on duty on the day of the event will participate in a
Homeless Feeder Food Safety Training Class. Classes cover basic principles of food
safety and Homeless Feeder Ordinance Requirements, and are provided by Dallas
Restaurant and Bar Inspection Division free of charge. Our team will contact the
division for more information on class dates and training location once the project is
approved.

EVENT TIMETABLE:

The event will be hosted at Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, and lasts one week
from Monday, August 4, 2014, to Friday, August 8, 2014. Below is the daily timetable of the
event:


Monday, August 4, 14
Tuesday, August 05, 2014 -
Thursday, August 07,2014 Friday, August 8, 14
9:00 AM -
10:00 AM Seat Assignment

Seat Assignment
10:00 AM -
10:30 AM
Opening
Commencement

Closing
Commencement
10:30 AM -
11:00 AM
Food Preparation and
Safety Check Food Preparation and Safety Check
Food Preparation and
Safety Check
11:00 AM -
12:00 PM
Homeless People Line
Up Homeless People Line Up
Homeless People Line
Up
12:00 PM -
2:00 PM
Food Establishment
Event Food Establishment Event
Food Establishment
Event
2:00 PM -
3:00 PM Event Clean Up Event Clean Up Event Clean Up












Kroger Fights Hunger | 10

STAFFING


Workforce


Number of
people


Job Description

Compensation

Kroger
Marketing
Team

3

Promote Kroger Fights Hunger on
social media
Contact newspapers and TV channels
in Dallas area to publish Kroger Fights
Hunger information
Design package of food bags and other
promotion materials


According to the
employment
contract between
Kroger and these
employees

Kroger Food
Team

2

Brainstorm the menu of food bags
Direct volunteer making food


According to the
employment
contract between
Kroger and these
employees


Volunteer
Food-making
Team


8

Prepare food bags according to the
instructions from Kroger employees
Phase II

N/A Volunteers
from The University
of Texas at Dallas

Volunteer
Food-
distribution
Team


5

Serve and distribute food to the
homeless in Dallas after the campaign
Phase III

N/A Volunteers
from Dallas City
Code

Kroger Fights Hunger | 11
BUDGET

Description Price/Unit Quantity Price Total
Staffing Compensation
3 Kroger Marketing Employees $15/hours 180 2,700

2 Kroger Food Employees $15/hours 120 1,800 4,500
Marketing Expense
Social Media Promotion $10/post 90 900

Newspapers & TV broadcast $50/post 6 300

Printing (posters...) $2/poster 100 200 1,400
Food/ Materials Expense
Food bag - $6 $6/bag 2,500 15,000

Food bag - $9 $9/bag 2,500 22,500 37,500
Total

$43,400

















Kroger Fights Hunger | 12
AUTHORIZATION REQUEST

Homelessness might not always be a problem, but starvation is. We need to solve this issue
as soon as possible, but we need more resources to meet the existing need. The Kroger
Tackle Hunger Campaign will help address the local hunger problem. Kroger will help
people to live in a better situation, and it is also a great opportunity for Kroger to earn
goodwill and make people recognize our brand. We will design a food bag to appeal to
customers. People who never come to Kroger will come to try out our new food bag and
support our campaign. Furthermore, we may be able to restore human resource that
suffers from hunger. Our team appreciates for your time and consideration. With your
interest in helping homeless people avoid hunger, we really want to arrange a time that our
team can meet with you to discuss for our first Marketing Campaign on June 20, 2014.




Kroger Executive Date
5665 E Mockingbird Ln
Dallas, TX







Distribution Executive Date
5665 E Mockingbird Ln
Dallas, TX










Kroger Fights Hunger | 13





REFERENCES

(2007, March 5). Homelessness: A Solvable Problem. America. p. 5.

Honing in on homelessness. (2001). Curriculum Review, 41(1), 8.

Wehler, C., Weinreb, L. F., Fletcher, K., Goldberg, R., Huntington, N., Scott, R., & ...
Gundersen, C. (2004). Risk and Protective Factors for Adult and Child Hunger Among
Low-Income Housed and Homeless Female-Headed Families. American Journal Of
Public Health, 94(1), 109-115.

Richards, R., & Smith, C. (2006). The Impact of Homeless Shelters on Food Access
and Choice Among Homeless Families in Minnesota. Journal Of Nutrition
Education & Behavior, 38(2), 96-105.

Texas State Plan To Prevent And End Homelessness . (2011, January 1). Texas Interagency
Council For the Homeless. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from
http://www.thn.org/storage/TICH_Plan_Final_Public_Comment%202.pdf

Overview of Homelessness In America. (n.d.). Homelessness In America. Retrieved February
28, 2014, from http://www.studentsagainsthunger.org/page/hhp/overview-
homelessness-america

Permanent Supportive Housing Program and Financial Model for Austin/Travis County,
Texas . (2010, February 20). . Retrieved February 28, 2014, from
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/housing/downloads/csh_austin_travis_model_rpt.pdf

Kroger Co. (n.d.). Bringing Hope to the Table. The Kroger Co.-. Retrived February 29, 2014,
from http://www.the krogerco.com/community/bringing-hope-to-the-table