Thank you for joining thousands of people coast-to-coast to swarm Kroger stores the weeks surrounding Labor Day (August 26 – September 10) to urge Kroger to stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides.
We need your help to turn up the heat on Kroger by demonstrating how many sales they would lose if they don’t stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides. If Kroger doesn’t help combat pollinator decline, the retailer and its customers are going to lose the most delicious and nutritious foods that stock store shelves and make up a big chunk of Kroger’s bottom line!
We are talking about foods such as apples, strawberries, kidney beans, tomatoes, grapes (bye bye wine), and so many more. You can view the full list of foods pollinated by bees here.
We’re asking folks across the country to take two pictures of their grocery cart. One picture with all the food you’d purchase at Kroger pollinated by bees and one with only food not pollinated by bees!
This Kroger photo action is easy. Below are some tips to help. If you have any questions or need help preparing, please drop a line to our buddies at Friends of the Earth at beeaction@foe.org or call 202-222-0738 To learn more visit www.foe.org/beeaction.
I. Instructions for Kroger Photo Action:
1) Pick a day and time to go grocery shopping at one of Kroger’s supermarkets between August 26 and September 10 (work this into your Labor Day or normal weekly shopping!).
2) Find a Kroger store near you by entering your zip code into the following website:
- https://www.kroger.com/stores/storeLocator
- Note: Kroger operates under a lot of different brand names! Kroger’s brands include Delta, Dillon, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Harris Teeter, Jay C, King Soopers, QFC, Ralph’s, Roundy’s and Smith’s.
3) Download and print the sign found below. Or get creative and make your own!
4) Bring the sign on your grocery-shopping trip.
5) Take two pictures with your sign that show Kroger what your cart would look like with and without pollinators!
- Below is a list of foods that require bees for pollination
- An easy way to do this is to shop for food that does not require bees first and take a picture of your cart. Then, fill your cart up with delicious produce and other foods, courtesy of bees, and take a picture of the huge difference!
- Try to position your cart near a Kroger logo and store sign to prove you’re in a Kroger store and make sure you include your printed sign!
- We took some example pictures for you below!
6) Ask to Speak to the Store Manager and show them your pictures. Use the sample script below!
7) Send your photo(s) to gmoinside@greenamerica.org and beeaction@foe.org and tell us how it went. We’ll post all of the photos we receive on our social media pages to create a buzz about the week of action and send a strong message to Kroger that people across the country want the company to stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides.
II. Talking Points and Tips
A. Tips for Talking with the store manager:
- Be Polite! Thank the manager for taking time to talk with you.
- Ask if they have heard about the campaign and direct them to the www.foe.org/beeactionwebsite if they haven’t.
- Tell your story! Explain why the need to protect bees matters to you as a customer and as a concerned citizen.
B. Sample Conversation:
Hi, my name is _______. I’m shopping here today to urge Kroger-owned stores to help protect bees, butterflies and other pollinators, upon which our food supply depends, by committing to establish a pollinator protection policy that includes the phase out of pollinator-toxic pesticides, including neonicotinoids and glyphosate, in your company’s supply chain and encourage suppliers to employ alternative pest management strategies. I also urge your company to increase its offerings of USDA organic food, prioritizing domestic, regional and local producers.”I took these pictures to show you and Kroger leadership the sales you would lose if you don’t stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides. As you can see, we rely on pollinators for some of the most delicious and nutritious food in your store. Can you contact Kroger headquarters and request that they implement a pollinator policy that reduced pollinator-toxic pesticides and increase offerings of domestic, organic food?III. Other ways to take action this week
A. Swarm the phone lines: Call Kroger’s Corporate Headquarters and deliver the following
message: Kroger: 800-576-4377
“Hi, my name is _______ and I’m a concerned Kroger customer in xxx city. I’m calling to urge Kroger to help protect bees, butterflies and other pollinators, upon which our food supply depends, by committing to establish a pollinator protection policy that includes the phase out of pollinator-toxic pesticides, including neonicotinoids and glyphosate, in your company’s supply chain and encourage suppliers to employ alternative pest management strategies. I also urge your company to increase its offerings of USDA organic food, prioritizing domestic, regional and local producers.”
B. Spread the Buzz on social media
1) Facebook: Post the statement below, along with the picture you took with your sign or the Facebook image below (also available at www.foe.org/beeaction), on Kroger’s Facebook Wall (https://www.facebook.com/Kroger/) and spread on your own page to spread awareness! Use the following message: Kroger: Stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides and increase offerings of organic bee-friendly food! www.foe.org/beeaction #SavetheBees”
2) Twitter: Tweet any of these tweets at Kroger’s Twitter account. Be sure to use this hashtag on any of your tweets: #SavetheBees
- @Kroger Stop selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides and increase USDA organic offerings! #SavetheBees
- @Kroger You'll lose the most delicious & nutritious food on your shelves if you keep selling food grown with bee-killing pesticides! #SavetheBees
- @Kroger Organic farmland supports 50% more pollinator species, increase USDA organic offerings free of bee-killing pesticides! #SavetheBeesSee the sign and an example of the action below!
V. Sign for Pictures/Social Graphic
Without Bees
With Bees!
